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INTEEESTIM ITEMS 



REGARDINQ 



NEW MEXICO: 



ITS 



AGRIC'JLTUEAL, PASTORAL 



AND ^j.^, 



MINERAL RESOURCES, 

PEOPLE, CLIMATE, SOIL, SCENERY, Etc. 



By W. F. M. ARNY, Acting Governor of New Mexico. 



S-A-DN-T^^^ FE, INT. HVC. J 
MANDEKPTELD & TUCKER, Printe'-'s 



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nDEIDI0A.TI03Sr. 



1\ THADDEUS HYATT, Esq., 

66 Gloucester Gardens, Hyde Park, 
London, England, 

Our co-ivorker in the cause of human freedom in Kansas, 
who in 1856, 1861-62 liberally contributed of his means 
for the freedom, colonization, and development of the "c- 
sources of that State, and who on his departure from Kan- 
sas said — 

"Remember me uot as an individual, 
But as the incarnation of a principle ; 
For man is ephemeral, 
But principles are eternal." 

The following pages are respectfully dedicated, by his old 
friend, who remembers him, as on individual as well as the 
incarnation of a, yrinciidc, and tvho subscribes himself as 
ever, in the cause of humanity, 

Tndy your friend, 
TV. F. M. ARNY. 



THE 

PHYSICAL. GEOGRAPHICAL 



AND 



MIN^ER^X. ^^^EA.LTH 



OF 



NE^V MEXICO. 



The resources of the Rocky Mountains, especially that 
portion which is included within the limits of New Mex- 
ico and Arizona, being scarcely known or appreciated, I 
propose to give a description of it as to its properties and 
the natural laws which must eventually give it position 
and character among the divisions of the United States, 
believing that the vast extent of territory, and the im- 
mense mineral wealth which it contains, will ere long jus- 
tify its more full exploration, and the formation of a state 
in the Union. 

This country is not a Garden of Eden, On the con- 
trary, the superficial observer would place his ideas of 
desolation, within jts limits; yet, if he examines closely, 
he will find an oasis amid the desert, and elements of 
wealth such as it is the fortune of few countries to pos- 
sess. 



~6— 

lis evilss — That it is arid, rainless ; presenting con- 
trasts to the American, come he from what part he may. 

Its good — Pastoral resources, unlimited as space ; min- 
eral wealth, as vast as man's comprehension can span ; its 
valleys limited, but fertile ; its climate equals Italy ; it is 
truly the depository of wealth, and the country for health. 

I propose to give, as briefly as possible, the light shades 
and the' dark shades, its advantages and disadvantages, 
its sterile sands and glittering gems. I ask none to adopt 
as truth what I say without close examination, and I trust 
that some may be induced to judge and investigate by 
personal inspection, from philanthropic as well as pec- 
uniary motives, and be convinced as I have been. 

Within this portion of the Territories of the United 
States were the cradles of that race of whom the Monte- 
zumas were kiogs, and in these mountains and valleys are 
ruins of the Montezumas. Upon the mountains and by 
the streams, in some places, their population, as the ruins 
would indicate, were tens of thousands, and their tem- 
ples are yet standing where, not many years ago, burned 
"the eternal fires." The Montezumas were the most civ- 
ilized of all the Indians, they were evidently advanced in 
many arts and sciences ; had a complete system of gov- 
ernment, and their| kings had absolute sway over an em- 
pire whose extent was great, and much of which, since it 
has been acquired by the United States, remains unex- 
plored, and whose population amounted to hundreds of 
thousands. They were an industrious people, adepts in 
the cultivation of the soil, (by irrigation, as the remains 
of their ditches show,) in mining, and in the manufacture 
of woolen goods, in which latter industry some of the 
Indians of the country excel. They built houses and 
temples ; they were a great nation of miners ; the em- 
pire was and remains a rich extent of precious metals ; 



_7— 

and indieations are found of their working of mines on th€ 
streams and in the mountains. 

The Montezumas came from the North and traveled 
■southward until the Spaniards found the center ot that 
great empire in Mexico. The Spaniard journeyed north- 
ward conquering on the pathway of the Montezumas, and 
stopped in their march where the Montezumas began. 

The blood of the Montezumas is to-day three-fifths of 
the blood of Mexico ; but the iron heel of the Spaniard 
has obliterated nearly all points of their original character, 
save here and there among some Indian tribes a blending 
will be found of Roman Catholic and Indian customs. 
However, there are yet many who expect the return of 
Montezuma as the Jews await the advent of Christ, and 
believe, when he coiaes to be their king, they will be 
united, rich, powerful, and will regain their prestige and 
empire. 

CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY. 

There is a general similarity of character throughout 
this whole extent of country, a similarity of climate and 
resources, its surface being much broken and traversed by 
chains of mountains, whose general direction is north and 
south, while intervening are large scopes or areas of table 
lands divided by occasional large and many small valleys 
of great fertility ; the valleys having a mean elevation of 
about four thousand feet above th« sea, and the highest 
mountains about nine thousand feet. 

WATER COURSES. 
This eountry is drained by the water of the Rio Grande, 
Chama, Navajoe river, the Pecos, Red river, the Mim- 
tires, the San Juan river, and its tributaries, which emp- 
ty into the Colorado river, and the Gulf of California ; 
aa«d numbers of smaller mounty-in streams. 



Railways. 

The Sierra Madre or Rocky Mountains and its spurs, 
ar branching chains, are in this Territory broken, and con- 
tain a multiplicity of feasible passes, admitting at many 
points good wagon roads from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
slopes, and over the intervening minor divides. 

There are a number of railroad enterprises whose an- 
nounced or possible objects are the construction of rail- 
roads to and through New Mexico. The railroads now 
being constructed or which are projected, whose routes 
are known to be to and transversing the teriitory, are 1st,, 
the Atlantic and Pacific; 2nd, Texas Pacific; 3rd, Den- 
ver and Rio Grande ; 4th, New Mexico and Gulf. A road 
also whose route, aftsr leaving its present destination is 
aotknown, if in fact it has been determined upon by the 
gentlemen in charge of the enterprise, is the "Atchison, 
Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad," now being rapidly push- 
ed up to the Arkansas valley to a probable point of junc- 
tion with the extension or branch of the Kansas Pacific 
in the vicinity of Fort Lyon in Colorado. 

The intentions and objects of the Kansas Pacific Rail- 
way Company as to the ccnstruction of any road towards 
our border after the completion of the extension of Fort 
Lyons are not known, except so far as the organizatios 
of a corporation called the Arkansas Valley and Cimar- 
ron Railway Company is concerned. 

This company we understand proposes to connect with 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road, starting some- 
where in the valley of the Arkansas river ; the line bears 
:n a southwesterly direction to the Cimarron Pass, near 
the head of El Rio Cimarron Seco, which anglicized, ia 
Dry Cimarron River. This section of the route, while 
of comparatively small value fur farmmg purposes, is ney,- 
ertbeless not without considerable value, by reason, of iis. 



great advantages as a grazing district. As evidence of 
this, for a number of years past almost countless herds 
have been kept in this district, winter and sumoier, with 
the best of success. 

Leaving this section of country and continuing south- 
westward, the line crosses the Dry Cimarron, in a beauti- 
ful valley, much of which is already settled in anticipa- 
tion of the time when the advent of the locomotive will 
place them in closer communication with the outside world. 
Thence continuing the same course it passes for a few 
miles through the most magnificent scenery that one could, 
imagine. 

From Cupulin mountain passing west, the line begins. 
to descend by Tenaj^ Arroya, a small stream, to the Ca- 
nadian Valley, and thence duect across a beautiful plain, 
well watered by the Canadian, Vermejo, Ponil and Cin^- 
arron rivers, to the tuwn of Cimarron, which, for th^ 
present, is the terminus of the located line. The last 
thirty miles of the line passes through the property of 
The Maxwell Land Grant and Railway Company. More 
than ten years ago I was well informed as to this grant, 
and traveled frequently all over it, and knew it then to be 
a good pastoral region. Since then the mineral and ag- 
ricultural resources have been to some extent developed. 

The enterprise of the propiietors in aidmg largely to 
construct the road will be rewarded soon, by seeing their 
lands converted fiom a pasturing ground to well tilled and 
productive farms. Although the location surveys have as 
yet made no progress west of Cimarron, a series ofrccon- 
noisances and instrumental examinations were made dur- 
ing the past summer by Mr. Morley, the chief engineer 
of the company, extending westward through the S[)anish 
range to the Valley of the Rio Grande. These examin- 
ations while demonstratipf? that no less than three avail- 



—10— 

able passes wer« in existence within fifty miles of Cimar- 
ron, that one, the Taos pass was eminently practical. 
To reach this pass a line with comparatively light work 
and easy grades is found running directly from Cimarron 
up the Valley and Caiion of the Cimarron River to the 
Moreno Valley, thence keeping up the valley tothesum- 
jnit, across and down Taos ereek to the city of Taos, mak- 
ing a distance from Cimarron to Taos of only about fifty 
miles, and by far the cheapest and best crossing of the 
mountains between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and the Black 
Hills, and at the same time passing the entire distance 
through a country that will afford an immense local traf- 
fic. Not only this, but reaching the Rio Grande Valley, 
it at once opens up the immenee area of agricultural, 
mineral and pastoral country to the westward. Another 
route 13 proposed from Cimarron, via Laa Vegas, and en- 
terprising town, the county city of San Miguel County, 
and thence to the Rio Grande by way of Anton Chico, 
or the Galisteo creek. 

A railway constructed from the Arkansas river, con- 
necting with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe road, 
and also with the Kansas Pacific, and running from the 
Colorado line through Mora county and thence due west 
into Rio Arriba county to the Rio Grande, and down that 
river to Santa Fe thence to Albuquerque making a junc- 
tion with the Atlantic and Pacific railroad, and then down 
the Rio Grande parallel with the river to El Paso, Mex- 
ico, and connecting with the 32d parallel road, in South- 
ern New Mexico. This is a superior route to connect 
Denver, and Santa Fe with the east, and to construct 
railways to the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, because 
the mountain elevations of the country admit of their be- 
ing built at the least possible expense, because it traver- 
ses a country exceedingly rich in minerals which would. 



-11— 

immediately upon their being built, make them self-sup- 
porting ; and principally because the route presents no 
solitary obstacle throughout the mountain portion of the 
country in preventing its operation with the same facility 
in winter as in summer. The construction of a road on 
this route would benefit the Government in bringing the 
public domain through which it would pass into market, 
in the settlement of the Indian troubles in Colorado, New 
Mexico and Arizona, and the opening of mineral, «Tgri- 
cultural and pastoral lands, on which thousands of fami- 
lies could obtain happy homes, all of which would save 
and produce more annually than the whole cost of the road, 

ACEQUIAS, CANALS — DITCHES. 
Irrisration, — The Rio Grande is the Nile of America, 
havinsr a most striking^ resemblance to this m^ent African 
river. It is 1,800 miles in length, and of almost equal 
volume from the source to the mouth. It has two branch- 
es and passes hundred of miles without receiving a trib- 
utaiy. It is fed almost entirely from the Rocky Mount- 
ains. An annual rise occurs from the melting of the snows 
each spring. Like the Nile, it is the sole reliance of the 
farmer. The natives have made to each town and the ad - 
ioinino: lands canals for irrigation. These are often twentv 
or thirty miles in length, affording also , considerable mill 
power. The waters of the Rio Grande, like the Nile, are 
exceedingly turbid, containing a large proportion of sedi- 
ment — probably, at high water, one fifth of the 
bulk of the water. Each irrigation is, consequently, 
a coat of manure to the soil ; and cultivation by this 
process, instead of impoverishing the soil, enriches 
it. The natives never use other manure. In El Paso 
valley the Spaniards found a tribe of Indians cultivating 
the soil 265 years ago, and it has been continually ever 
since, yet the soil is of undiminished fertility. 



—12— 

The report of the ComraisBioner of the General Land 
Office for the year 1S>68 says : 

The lands in the valleys of the rivers are very fertile, 
and can be successfully cultivated, though the cultivation 
IS carried on by means of irrigation. Although consider- 
able labor and expense are at first incurred in making 
the canals and ditches, the crops are more certain than 
Avhen entire dependence is placed upon the fall of rain for 
the amount of moisture required, and the lands, enriched 
by the detritus made up of decayed vegetation and rich 
mould from the mountains distributed by the running wa- 
ter, never vt'ears out. Lands in the vicmity of Santa Fc 
have been under annual cultivation for more than two 
hundred years, and still produce excellent crops, without 
ever Iiaving been enriched or restored by other means. 

Aid-by the Government in the construction of canals 
and ditches would bring under cultivation hundreds of 
thousands of acres of land which is now unsurveyed and 
not cultivated, which would make happy homes for thou- 
sands who are now living homeless and in poverty. 

PUBLIC LANDS. 

Of the area of the public lands in New Mexico unsur- 
veyed, and of course unofFered and undisposed [of, about 
one-tenth is susceptible of cultivation, and is capable of 
sustaining an extremely large pastoral, agricultural and 
mining population, as the actual amount of arable land in 
the valleys is very fertile, and where properly cultivated, 
will produce good crops. The table-lands and plains are 
inexhaustible in pasturage, and in the mountains are 
treasures of vast stores of mineral wealth, It embraces a 
country much of which is scarcely- known, which has 
been but partially explored, and, as far as metals are con- 
carned, to the sHghtec-t degree. 



—18- 

Through the courtesy of United States Surveyor Gen'^ 
eral James K. Proudfit, I have been furnished with a 
copy of his annual report for 1872, in advance of its publi- 
cation, from which I quote the following, viz : 

The area of 121,201 square miles in New Mexico em- 
braces in acres, 77,568,640.00. 

Of which military reserves surveyed, 189,493.44 

Indian reserves surveyed, 1,302,960.00 

Con&rmed jvivate grants surveyed, 3,860,582.73 

Mining claims surveyed, 51.87 

Townships subdivided, 3,248,463.00 



8,601,551.13 
Leaving acres, unsurveyed, 68,967,088.87 

A considerable portion of the lands of New Mexico are 

held by private parties and I now proceed to mention 

them under the caption of 

TRIVATE LAND CLAIMS IN NEW MEXICO. 
Soon after the Spanish arms in the sixteenth century 
penetrated and occupied New Mexico as one of the ultra- 
marine possessions of the crown of Spain, the governors 
and Captain general of the province then pertaining to the 
vice royalty of New Mexico, were authorized to make 
concessions of land to the settlers. Afterwards they were 
made to individuals for distinguished loyalty to the crown 
and important services to the state in the Indian wars then 
harrassing the people and impeding the development and 
progress of the country, and still subsequently these con- 
cessions were made in numerous instances to the descend- 
ants of those persons who had thus manifested their loy- 
alty and contributed iheir services. During the Spanish 
regime in New Mexico as elsewhere in the Mexican vice- 
royalty, it was always the declared policy of the sovereign 
"that the public domain should be populated and 



—14— 

utilized" ihrougli the medium of grants of land to bis 
subjects, as individuals or as communitiea. Aftervvarda 
when the Mexican republic succeeded to the sovereignty 
ot the soil, it was the declared policy of that government 
to "encourage agriculture" by making to its citizens and 
communities liberal donations of the national domain for 
cultivation and stock raising and also for mining purposes. 
It is said by those who ought to know, that there are very 
few, if any, spurious grants in the Territory — certainly 
very few compared with the number brought to light in 
California. Some of these sfrants of land are now held 
by our citizens, other grants by large and flourishing 
communities, and others have been purciiased by capital- 
ists and wealthy companies with a view to their settlement 
and application to agricultural, stock growing and mining 
uses. 

Now that predatory incursions of the wild Indians have 
under the policy of the present national administration 
become less frequent and serious, and now that the ad- 
vent of railroads is forseen in the near future, settlers are 
beginning to search out and locate homesteads on the pub- 
lic domain beyond the frontier under the government of 
of the United States, and on private grants by purchase. 
My space will allow me to mention only a few of the prin- 
cipal landed estates of this Territory, and I will mention 
only a portion of those denominated Mexican Grants, and 
ia doing so it is but just and proper, that I should Sfiy 
that lam indebted for much valuable information on this 
subject to the courtesy of David J. Miller, Esq., chief 
clerk and translator of the U. S. Surveyor General's of- 
fice, which Avas furnished from data in that office, and also 
my thanks are due to Sam'l Ellison, Esq. clerk of the coun- 
ty court of Santa Fe county, for information furnished to 
rae from his extensive knowledge of this special subject. 



—15— 

Near the 36th parallel is the Cicneguilla Grant contam^ 
mg an area of about 80,000 acrea of land ; it lies in the 
county of Taos, and is not yet recognized and confirmed 
by Congress ; but as it is a comn>unity grant, and as the 
claim has been established as valid and genuine by testi- 
mony before the surveyor general, and approved by himj 
it will no doubt be confirmed by Congress, where it is now 
pending. 

In Kio Arriba county there are numerous grants, some 
of which have been acted upon by the government, and 
some of which yet av>'ait action. The principal are the^^i- 
cina.s grant containing about 25,000 acres, J'he Chama and 
The Chamita. grants, area unknown ; all upon the Chama 
river and watered by several smaller streams. Upon that 
river also lies The Abiquiu, The Canon de Chama, and The 
Tierra Amarilla, all extensive and valuable bodies of landy 
and each containing many settlers. There is also the 
large Sebastian Martin Grant, upon the liio del Norte, 
and various others besides the Indian Pueblos. 

In the county of Santa Fe, there are also numerous 
grants of which I have space to mention only the Bishop 
Lamy estate, known as Oar Lady of Light, and held in 
trust for the Roman Catholic Church. It is a surveyed 
grant and contains about 16,500 acres of land. 

The San Crisiohal grant or Eatoji's Ranch, upon Galis- 
teo creek, twenty-seven miles south of Santa Fe, contain- 
ing about 28,000 acres of agricultural and grazing land. 

The Gotera Giant, owned by Nasario Gonzales, on the 
Galisteo creek, containing about 3.000 acres of agricul- 
tural and some grazing lands. 

The Vicente Diira^i de Armijo Grant, adjoining the In- 
dian Pueblo of Nambe, on both sides of the stream of 
that name, and now claimed by Caspar Ortiz. 

In Santa Ana county there is The Valles Grandes float 



—16-^ 

owned by Don Tomas C. de Baca, containing about 100,- 
000 acres. This tract bears abundant and superior timber, 
and contains excellent pasturage and is celebrated for the 
excellent trout fishing it affords, and for its wild game. 

The Canon de San Diego Grant, North east of the In- 
dian villasfe of Jemez, and embracinor the well known 
Jemez hot springs claimed by the Hon. Francisco Perea 
and others, is a valuable tract of land watered by the Je- 
mez river. In Bernalillo county is the town of Albuquer- 
que and its ranches, which is located on the Kio Grande 
and contains some of the best and most productive agri- 
cultural lands in New Mexico. 

There is also tlie BernaUUo property, a community grant 
owned by Jose Leandro Perea and others, — this is a good 
fruit region. In this county there are also other grants 
of character and value. 

Colfax county, contains a fine body of land — the three 
towns of Elizabeth City, Cimarron City, and Kayado, 
are m this county — it is a good agricultural county and its 
I>astoral resources are considerable. Its mineral resources 
have been partially developed, and resulted in the build- 
insr of a fine town in the Moreno Vallev. The Beaubien 
and Miranda grant owned by The Maxwell Land Grant ^ 
Railicay Company, and TJtc llayado Estate owned by our 
enterprising citizen, Hon. Jesus G. Abreu, are located in 
this county. 

In Valencia county, the principal is the community 
grant to the people of Belen. The tract contains about 
3 50,000 acres, and has been surveyed. 

In Mora county, I will mention the John Scolly or 
Juivla grant, now owned by William Kroenig, Samuel B. 
Watrous, Tipton and others, being a body of excellent 
and valuable land, much of it now well improved, situated 
in the vlcinitv of Fort Uniou. 



—17— 

The Mora grants a community grant northwest of th« 
I^a Junta estate. This tract contains a large flourishing 
agricultural, stock growing and commercial community, 
has been surveyed and contains more than 800,000 acres 
of land. 

"The United States Land and Improvement company" 
Own The Baca Location No. 4 in San Luis, Valley Colo- 
rado; and the Armendaris grants on the Rio Grande del 
Norte, in Socorro county. New Mexico, which have been 
■surveyed; and are described by the surveyor, as follows*: 

ARMENDARIS GRANT NO. 33— GENERAL 
DESCRIPTION. 

This Land Grant* owing to the location of its bound- 
ary calls, is very irregular in shape, being long and nar- 
row — its length being some 50 miles in a generally north 
and south direction, and its vvudth about an average of 12 
miles, mainly in an east and west direction. To give any 
detailed description of such an extent of country would 
occupy too much space for insertion here. One longest 
side is mainly bounded by the Rio Grande River, and the 
opposite one lies in the hills near the foot of the Rocky 
Mountains, the Grant thus having the best possible shape 
for containing the greatest amount of riveV-bottom land, 
with sufHcient upland for pasture for the settlers. Its 
general location miy be said to be down in the immense 
basin, which lies between two Ranges of the RocRy 
Mountains, through which the Rio Grande flows. 

The climate on this tract is one of the finest in the 
world, being mild and equable all the year round and 
not subject to storms or tempests of any kind, the ranfreo 
of the White San Andres and Oscuro Mountains shutting 
it in and protecting it from all changes and vrinds froK". 

*The area of grant is S97,8"j.298 acres. 



—18— 

the east with its immense open plains, and the Magdalena^, 
San Mateo, andMimbres Mountains prevent any north- 
westers or sudden changes from reachincr it in force from 
the West. 

It is considered and has been proven that this portion 
of New Mexico is the most salubrious and health-ofivinfr 
in climate in America for invalids of all classes, but es- 
pecially for those alitlicted ".vith consumption or other pul- 
monary complaints, the published ratio of death of inva- 
lids being only 3 per cent as against 4^ per cent in Flo- 
rida, the next most favorable locality, according to the 
statistics in this regard. The survey of this Grant wa& 
made in the month of November, and during the entire 
time the surveyor v/as engaged in this and the adjoin- 
ing survey (being the whole of that month) he did not 
experience any cold or otherwise disagreeable v/eather, 
nor a single hour during any day that the sun did not 
shine. The tbermometvical observations at Fort McHae 
and Craig, show a monthly and yearly mean approach- 
ing that of the Madeira Islands. 

The most rich and nutritious grasses abound in every 
direction, there not being an acre of the Grant, moun- 
tain or valley where fine grass is not found, and the sev- 
eral species of the Grama grass are especially abundant. 
This grass is self-curing and furnishes, winter and sum- 
mer, a perfectly sure, reliable and simple food for all 
Varieties, and any quantity cf live stock. Ahnost any 
part of the Grant may be said to be a hay meadow, from 
which at any time when needed boundless stores of hay 
may be cut for such animab as have to be confined at 
home for domestic use. As already referred to in the 
field notes the surveyor saw, in the Southern portion 
of the grant, Mexicans cutting hay with the sickle which 
they hauled to Fort McRae, a distance of from 3 to i) 



—19— 

allies (as they moved their camp) and delivered to the 
United States Quartermaster for a contract price of $8 50 
per too. A better comment on the facilities of this grant 
for stock-raising could not be made. 

Ihe Rio Grande Valley, which forms one of the bound- 
aries of this grant for almost its entire length, deserves 
special notice. The River is one of the principal rivers 
of America, and is of course the largest and most import- 
ant in the Territory. Its soil is a rich sandv loam of the 
finest quality, producing all varieties of grains, vegetables 
and fruits. The vegetables grown here are of remark- 
able size, some of the most common varieties being beets 
of all kinds, including those beets adapted to sugar making, 
onions averaging 2 lbs each' from the field, cabbages, of 
v/hich one was seen at the Sutler store at Port Graig 
weighing 64 lbs. Parsnips, turnips, carrots, Irish potatoes 
sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squashes, beans, pear, water- 
melons and nutmeg melons of a size and sweetness rarely 
excelled ; some of the RancJieros having raised them of 
50 lbs- weight. In fact, all kinds of vegetables grown 
in the United States are found here of sizes analogous 
to those of California. Apples, pears, peaches, figs and 
other fruits, also flourish on this tract, the apricot espec- 
ially being of an unusual size and fine flavor. 

The most valuable feature, however, of this valley is 
its ca[)acityand adaptability for raising the Spanish grape 
(aome vineyards of which are found on the tract) which 
must make the river the Rhine of America, with somo 
day, an immense wine producing community. The wine 
as at present made by the natives is sweet and red with 
great body, and is of the nature of the sacrificial wine 
used in the churches. 

Cotton also can be grown here, of a good staple, and 
it is not subject to frost. 



—20— 

The water power is, of course, inexhaustible and at 
hand without cost. Mill sites are plenty where mills and 
factories for grinding grain, manufacturing fabrics from 
the wool of the countless sheep which even now roam 
over the tract and from the cotton which can be raised, 
for milling the gold, silver, lead and copper ores wnich 
abound in the mountains in and adjacent to the grant, 
or for any other purpose, can easily and profitably be 
erected and supported. 

The average width of the Rio Grande bottom is from 
1 to 2 miles, but if it should at any time become neces- 
sary to have more land under cultivation than that of the 
bottoms, the second bottoms or benches are also compos- 
ed of first rate soil, and of these about 150,000 acres can 
easily and cheaply be put under cultivation by simply taking 
out an acequia or irrigating ditch high enough up to water 
them. A project for doing this at a point higher up on 
the river is said to be already on foot. It is certainly 
easy, simple and feasible, and will, no doubt, soon 
be done. 

The Ojo del Muerto and site of the U. S. Military post 
of Fort Mc Rae m the southern portion of the grant is 
also an important point, being the main pass from the 
east to the west, lying between the Caballo and Frav 
Cristobal Mountains, and must some day become one of 
the greatest thoroughfares in southern New Mexico. 

A fine gravel bottom ford, with permanent banks, is 
also found here on the river, which for 10 miles in a di- 
rect line runs througli this portion of the Grant. 

The famous hot springs del Caballo, or Ojos Caiientes, 
form one of the most remarkable as well as interestino-, 
and valuable features of the grant. They are situated 
about 5^ miles eouthwest from Fort McRae near the Rio 
Grande. They burst out from the foot of a Mesa, form 



—21— 

some large natural bathing pools, and discharge into the 
the river about ^ to f of a mile distant. They have a 
temperature of about 136^ Fahrenheit, and contain soda, 
lime, magnesia, and many other chemical ingredients (a 
full analysis never having been published) which have 
bronght them in great repute for curing rheumatism and 
all serofulous and cutaneous diseases. 

The south east portion of the grant lying up on the 
Jornada del Muerto, is a pasture of great extent and in- 
exhaustible as regards fertility. It is dry at present, 
(though covered with fine grass) but water can be easily 
obtained by digging, as has been demonstrated by Jack 
Martin who has obtained a fine well of excellent water 
about 9 miles south of the south boundary of the grant. 

Near the Analla Spring on the eastern side of the grant 
is an immense bed of gypsum about 10 miles in diameter, 
where the natives and the government have been getting 
considerable supplies for many years. This will be of 
great value when railroad communication is established. 

Mines of lead and silver abound, also iron, aud from 
the Mai Pais to the San Pascual Mountain there is a 
GOBsiderable deposit of bituminous coal of good quality, 
which has been opened and worked for several years near 
its northern extremity, and the coal hauled to the Forts 
for blacksmithing and fuer purposes. 

Timber on the grant is plenty, both for present and 
future use. Live oakV cedar of two varieties. Pine of 
of 3 or 4 kinds ; piiion, maple, pecan and walnut with con- 
siderable hackberry, mezquit, manzanllla and tornillo, 
were found on the lines. They were using walnut and 
pecan for firewood at Fort McRae at the time the survey- 
or passed. 

Mmes of gold have not yet been discovered on this 
grant, Kut as they have been found in the adjacent W^^*^ 



—22— 

and Jicarilla Mountains, it is almost certain that a pros- 
pecting tour and geological survey will discover them, as 
well a3 many other valuable mineral deposits. 

Building stone and limestone are found in various lo- 
calities on the grant within convenient distance of the 
river. 

A species of the maguey plant grows in the Caballo 
Mountains in the southern part of the grant, from which 
a sweet wholesome and palatable food as well as drink is 
made by the Mexicans and Indians, and large piles of the 
refuse from such reduction were found in several places. 
The food is called "Pulque" and the liquor ^'Mescal." 

For crossing the Rio Grande there is a good ferry es- 
tablished at Fort Craig, and fine natural roads for com- 
munication to and fro are open m every direction. 

There is one town (Parage,) of about 800 persons, on' 
the grant, and various squatters are beginning to dot the 
valley with their intruding ranchos, now that safety from 
the wild. Indians is experienced. 

The principal mountains on this grant are the Fray 
Cristobal and San Pascual. The Fray Cristobal is a re- 
markable mountain, from the fact of its receiving its name 
and really resembling, in a remarkable manner, (when 
seen from a distance, the profile of a human face (that of 
a friar) and body, reposing on its back with face towards 
the zenith. It is about thirteen miles long with a general 
north and south trend, and from base to base some eight 
to ten miles wide. Its sides are sloping on the east and 
precipitous on the west. In it are also found silver mines 
which have been worked years ago by parties unknown. 

The San Pascual is of minor importance though it is 
said to contain some good lead mines, as well as valuable 
limestone and marble quarries. 

In the San Andres Mountains adjoining the east boun- 



—23— 

idary are -seme copper mines, as appears from data in the 
U. S. Surveyor General's Office — value or state of de- 
velopment unknown. 

In fine the productions of the temperate zone, border- 
ing on the tropic are here intensified and increased by 
protecting mountains, while the general climate is almost 
perfect, the result of a fortunate combination of latitude 
and altitude above the sea. 

This grant is considered one of the most desirable spots 
in the United States awaiting a population, where a good 
living can be made with less labor and better average 
health than elsewhere, while the situation, fertility and 
extent of the grant will sustain within its boundaries a 
population of half a million inhabitants. 

ARMENDARIS GRANT NO. 34-GENERAL DE- 
SCRIPTION, 

This Private Land Claim* has something of a triangu- 
lar form, and is nearly twice as long from north to south 
as wide from east to west in its widest part which is at the 
north. Having the Rio Grande del Norte for the entire 
length of its eastern side and forming its eastern bounda- 
ry and the ranges of the Magdalena and San Mateo 
Mountains on the entire western boundary with their nu- 
merous waters and shelters while the extensive plain be- 
tween is covered winter and summer with the finest natu- 
ral grasses and the bottoms of the Rio Grande averaging 
from one to two miles in width for the entire length of the 
grant with soil of superior quality and productiveness. — 
This property or domain may be said to have been super- 
latively well selected by the ancient Spanish owners as a 
istockraising, agricultural and manufacturing estate, since 
it appears to possess in a remarkable degree every requi- 

tContains 119,933.98 acres. 



site for these branches of profitable home industry. 2 
found tbaJi-about one-thirtieth part of the land on the riv- 
er is now or has been under cultivation, producing aii 
grains, fruits and vegetables in great profusion and of ex- 
traordinary size ; also a grape of fine quality from which 
n. supQrior wine is made of the nature and flavor of Bur- 
gundy, 

The range of the Canas Verales Hills situated in the 
northern portion of the grant, possesses a considerable 
number of good permanent springs of water and running 
streams, some of which are the Canas Verales, the Coyo- 
te, the Chupadero, the Chupadero Chiquito, the Nogales,. 
(Walnut Creek,) the Torreon, the Cienega, the Ranjel,. 
and various others mentioned by the guides as lying in.tha 
interior of the grant and not seen by me. 

Walnut, cedar, cottonwood, pecan, live oak, pinoii, 
hackberry, and pine timber abound in these hills and will 
furnish for the future all the timber and firewood needed 
by the settlers over the entire grant. These hijls also 
contain limestone and building stone. in abundance ; and 
coal also it is said has been found in th^m but never de- 
veloped owing to the fine coal fields over on the, opposite 
side of the river. 

The Magdalena Mountains, on the north west corner^, 
contain great quantities of fipe pine timber of large size.. 

Corn, watermelons still green, walnuts, pumpkins^ 
squashes,, onions and potatoes were all fqusnd at the Ca- 
nas Verales on a sm^ll piec3 of land under cultivation 
there. The water of the Torjreon is slightly warm. The 
elimate here at this season. ie pe^fqct,. I not having expe- 
rienced during the whole month, of my stay in these parta 
a single cloudy or unpleasant day. It is mild and agree- 
able and two crops per annum can be and are raised from 
t^e same ground in the bottoms of the Rio Grande. 



-25— 

The Rio Grande river along here is a large stream lin-. 
ed with fine bottoms and successively large groves of Cot- 
tonwood timber. It is crossed by ferry at the military- 
post though It is fordabie in places at favorable seasons. 
Its banks are low and irrigating ditches are easily and' 
cheaply taken out. 

One town of about- four hundred inhabitant is on the 
grant and a few farros. Many irrigating ditches have> 
been taken out and are still runninof, Two flouring milln 
were seen and the v/ater power is inexhaustable and could- 
be cheaply brought in. 

The grass on the grant is mostly of the grama species 
which is excellent and is self curing for winter making a 
fine range for all classes of stock. Mexicans were seen 
by me near the line, cutting hay vrith the sickle which 
they delivered at Fort Craig some nine or twelve miles 
distant at $8 50 per ton. 

In the range of the Caiias Verales Hills towards their 
southern extremity are several old shafts of silver and 
lead mines, worked in former tinges by parties unknown, 
the ore from which promises well. There is also a silver 
lode discovered Jately, by. a party of ^Americans ia the 
southwest part ofr the grant but its value is unknown. In 
the valleys and cauons coming down from the mountains, 
gold washings have been found but not so far in paying 
quantities when near the Water. 

An immense bed of gypsum lies between the Rio 
Grande and the Caiias Yerales Spring in the southern 
portion of the grant which oir.-crops in many places. 

The proportion of good agricultural land to that suit-, 
able for grazing, and timber seems to be perfect in this . 
grant and it is capable of sustaining a very large.. njanu-; 
facturing and farming population. 



— 2G— 

Lincoln County corrtains nn are of rich and very pro- 
•iluctive land susceptable of high cultivation and capable 
<jf sustaining a large population. 

■In San Migul County is the town of Las Vegas with 
its surroundinor ranches, a flourishinor town on the mail 
route from the States, with an enter[)rising population; 
the second city in the Territory. In this county is also 
located landed property owned by The Consolidated Land^ 
CaUle Raising and Wool Groiving Company. They pos- 
sess two grants which are described by the Surveyor's as 
follows : 

BACA LOCATION XO. 2 

has an area of about 50,000 acres. The whole of this 
tract of land Vvith the exception ot the northwest portion 
is a beautiful fertile plain, well adapted for grazing pur- 
poses. That portion immediately on the Kio Colorado 
and tributaries, very rich and susceptible of cultivation. 
Cottonwood timber on streams in abundance. 

(Signed.) THOMAS MEANS, 

Dep7i(y Surveyor. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PABLO 
MONTOYA GRANT*— TAKEN FROM THE 
FIELD NOTES. 



CtEnekal features. 
There are no mountains unless the Trinchera Range 
which only reaches an elevation of some 1500 feet above 
the surrounding country , cah be so called on this grant, 
but its extent is agreeably diversified by open plains of 
small extent and a. great number of mesas or table-lands 
of moderate size and of an almost uniform height of 600 
?to 800 feet, of which the Mesa Rica (rich table land) 
■*This grant bas an area of C55.4GS.07 acres. 



'partly lying 'within the grant in the west is the largest. 
Rocky canons which in some cases fill the space between 
these mesas, but generally benches or high valleys of frooi 
20 chains to 3 miles in width lie between them. 

The northeast portion abounds in canons, rincons and 
other natural places for sheltering stock. 

Nutritious cfrasses of the fijrama and buffalo classes mix- 
es o 

with some other varieties abound in all directions and in 
all the bottom lands of Red River and Las Conchas, the 
"sacaton" a grass growing G feet high also abounds. 

Natural Productions. 
The natural productions of the prairies , mesas and 
valleys (apart "from the natural grasses which are the 
most valuable) are the same as those found in most other 
portions of the Territory not mountainous, viz : wild iiax, 
wild oats, Indian potatos, wild onions, strawberries, mes- 
cal, wild currant, china berries, wild grapes of a variety 
attaining a considerable size and various other of 
the fruit of the cactus amongst which is especially noted 
the "Gucia" or "Datula" or Indian banana, whicli is 
found in great abundance in some places. 

Land. 
There is more or less of irrigable land lying in the bot- 
toms of Red River, but the greater portion of the cultiva- 
ble land of the grant lies too high to be watered from the 
river, rendering it necessary to procure artesian water if 
the plains or high valleys are intended to be made produc- 
tive for agriculture. Where the land has been cultivated 
in the valleys the soil has proven itself to be of the most 
superior quality. On the prairies it seem to be 2nd rate. 

Minerals. 
The prevailing rock is red and white sandstone in near- 



—28— 

Jiy horizontal strata which in alternate layers in the side* 
of the mesas and isolated hills presents from a distance the 
appearance of ribbons ; hence it is thought the Spanish 
name of the "Rincon de la Cinta" or "Corner of the Rib- 
bon" a point on the north boundary named in the grant. 

Scoria, tufa, or volcanic rock was noticed in some loc- 
alities ae also limestone in. considerable quantities. So far 
as observed the rocks present no fossil index or evidence of 
mineral deposits except. "}ieso" OcSpecies of gypsum used 
for whitewash, of which a good and extensive mine is 
found in the "Mesa Huerfana." 

Some evidence of a deposit of iron was found on the 
northern boundary near the crossing of Red River. 

TiJIBER. 

Red River is scantily fringed v/ith Cottonwood trees, a 
few reaching a diameter of 2 to 3 feet feet and large groves 
of small ones which are yearly destroyed by fires which 
the tall grass in the bottonw furnishes with extra fierce- 
ness and vigor. China trees also abound in the Valley 
of Red River. This is a very hard and serviceable wood 
though the trees are not generally more than 3 to 8 inches 
in diameter. Box elder also grows to a diameter of 10 
inches m the bottoms. 

Near Mule Spring is some excellent p|ne timber of 
moderate thickness, and one or two good sites f6r saw 
mills were noticed. Pinon trees which bear a very nutri- 
tious and oily nut, and cedar trees with unusually large 
berries abound in every portion of the grantj and to- 
gether with the numerous groves of scrubby oak bushes 
bcattered through them, (producing a small sweet acorn 
in considerable quantities) furnish a fine food x6v the 
game. Oak of a diameter reaching 8 inches and hack? 
Uerry (called "Manzanita" by natives) of 12 inches dia- 



.—29— 

meter are sometimes found in small quantities. Fire 
wood is plenty. Timber for building purposes scarce, 
but the place of the latter is abundantly supplied by the 
natural quarries of hard sandstone which occur in every 
direction and which give a building stone of admirable 
■quality for durability and ease of working. 

Water. 

The Red River or Canadian Fork of the Arkansas runs 
through this grant from N. W. to S. E. It is from 
thirty to forty yards wide, a brisk permanent stream of 
water which is always, muddy, except at extremely low 
water, a good deal of which discoloring is due in sum- 
mer to the raining in the Moreno valley some 300 miles 
above. The banks are generally steep and difficult of 
ascent and generally consist of rock on one side with a 
small bottom of low Innd on the other. This river fills 
once or twice a year but is not subject to extensive or 
damaging floods. Within the limits of the grant the 
other water courses such as Mecate del Oso, Caiion 
Vigil, Arroyo Mesteno, Arroyo Alamosito, Arroyo 
Zorra, Arroyo de las Majoneras, Arroyo de Antonio Hi- 
lario, Caiiadii Atarque, Right Fork of Arroyo Los 
Garros, Arroyo Los Trozas, Arroyo Trinchera, and 
Arroyo de la Cinta, are generally dry with the exception 
of periodical freshets, but have parmanent v.ater stand- 
ing in them in holes at irregular distances. To the 
above arroyos, the Arroyo Trementina, Caiion de la 
Mula (left fork) and Rio de las Conchas are exceptions, 
all containing good running water except the first, the 
water in which is very highly charged with alkali salts, 
but is much relished by cattle. Some half a dozen 
-springs of ^ood water are known to exist near the banks 



— so— 

of Red Riverj and as many more near the bottoms of the 
different mesas on each side. 

Game. 

Bed River and adjacent permanent streams abound in 
cat fish. Black and white tailed deer, antelope, bears, 
wolves, coyotes, turkeys, prairie doge and California lions, 
with tv/o or three species of lynx or wild cats are found in 
all parts of the grant. And last winter and spring buf- 
falo were seen ia,considerable quantities and many of them 
killed by hunters and the adjacent settlers ! 

This grant in its present state cannot be excelled as a 
stock raising country, and was very appropriately select- 
ed by the company who own it, for the object they have 
in view, as it is well adapted to cattle, sheep &c., and 
would sustain hnndreds of thousands of cattle and millions 
of s'leep, and furnish happy homes for several thousand 
families. 

Surveyor General James K. Proudfit, a short time since 
visited the foregoing described grants, and in his supple- 
mental report to the Hon. Commissioner of the General 
Land Office, dated Nov. 26th, 1872, he says: 

"I have travelled to Fort Bascom on the Canadian 
river near the Texan frontier, a round tri{) of about 350 
miles, and to Fort Craig down the valley of the Rio 
Grande, another journey of about the same extent. I 
made these trips mainly that I might learn something t.f 
the characteristics of the district and its people from 
personal observation* Including the route from the Ter- 
ritorial boundary near Trinidad, Colorado, to this city my 
travels in the district amount to above 1000 miles. 

I am satisfied that this Territory deserves better and 
more liberal treatment than it has ever received ; it appears 
to be misrepresented, and generally friendless and for- 



—31— 

lorn, but it has immen&e latent repoarces. I believe il' 
has mora gold, silver and copper tlmn Colorado or Ne- 
vada, and there are also vast quantities of iron, lead, 
coal and other minerals, together with plenty of good 
timber. It has a most salubrious, mild and equable 
elimate, and cannot be excelled lor graziug purposes. 
All its fine valleys and almost endless plains are feed- 
ing grounds, covered the year through with nutritious 
native grasses, and stock does not require to be housed 
at amy time, the winters are so mild and storraless. Fruit,, 
especially grapes, together with vegetables and grain,, 
flourishes in all the valleys and wherever the land can^ 
be irrigated." 

INDIANS. 
It hag often become pfUent to every person who is at" 
all acquainted with this Territory, that the greatest re- 
tarding, influence to the development of this vast and 
rich section of our country, has arisen from the hostility 
of the Indians who, heretofore claimed the right to roam 
over a large portion of it. This, however, I am glad 
to say is being corrected by the Avise policy of the gov- 
ernment' by which the Indians are being placed on re- 
servations, where it is proposed "to civilize, christianize, 
and make them self-sustaining," and thus open for settle- 
ment and development large tracts of very valuable nublis 
and. other lands, which are held by grants. 

Pueblo Indians, 

Within the limits of New Mexico]there are 19 pueblos 
(towns) entirely occupied by Indians who are civilized so 
far as to maintain themselves. The population of these 
towns number, as per census 1,239 families, and 7,648 
persons, of which number there arc 2,084 under eifrhteen 



—32— 

years of age. Their grants or reserves contain, in al^ 
434,864.15 acres. In regard to the time of the settle- 
ment of these Indians, there id extant a royal decree in 
Spain of the Emperor Charles V,, dated at Cigales, March 
■21, 1551, containing the statement that, by an order 
of the Emperor, given in 1546, the prelates of New Spain 
convened for the purpose, had resolved that the Indians 
tshoLild be brought to settle, (reduced to pueblos,) and 
that they should not live divided and separated by mount- 
ains and hills, etc. Phillip II. in consequence of the 
intention of the Emperor Charles, published a statute on 
the founding of settlements. Dr. M. Steck, who took 
frreat interest in the Pueblo Indians says: "It was the 
royal decree designed to protect the Pueblo Indians, and 
to provide for the settlement of others at that time not 
living in towns." 

The question as to whether the Pueblo Indians were 
found living in towns or thus settled by the early conquerors 
is clearly settled by Cabeza de Baca and Coronades, who 
are the earliest authority upon the history of this country. 
Theyfound these Indians living in towns, many of which 
were described by them as cities. At the time of the 
first revolution against Spanish rule by these 
Indians, some of their towns were destroyed. Some 
of these were rebuilt upon new sites. These were the 
only to\Vns whose settlements were made after the date 
of the conquest. From Castanada's deeCri[)tion in 1540 
thev were found living in towns, and in prosperous con- 
dition ; and so far as the decree in question relates to 
them, the object was to protect their rights from en- 
croachment and imposition. 

Previous to 1583 these Indians rebelled against the 
Spanish Government, and drove from the country the 
jjriests of the Ro-man Catholic Church, and we have 



•—33— 

an account in Spanish of an expedition by Espejo in 
that year, in which a portion of the country was again 
conquered and the Indians compelled t© work in the 
mines. 

In 1680 the Pueblo Indians rebelled for the second 
time against the Spaniards. **They had been whipped 
and scourged because they wouid not bow and worship 
the unknown God of the Spaniard, and, being compelled 
to dig the precious metals from the bowels of the earth 
to satisfy the avarice of their tyrants, they thirsted for 
vengeance. "They drove the Spaniards and priests from 
their country, and again established their own govern- 
mant and religious worship." 

On the 5th of November, 1681, Governor Oterman 
unfurled his banner and marched with an army to conquer 
New Mexico, in which he failed. 

In 1692 the Spaniards succeeded in reconquering New 
Mexico, and again took Santa Fe. I have in my office 
three documents in Spanish which would make over a 
hundred pages of printed matter, dated 1693 and 1694, 
which gives a full account of the conquest of Santa Fe by 
the Spaniards, and its reconquest by the Indians. 

W. W. H. Davis, A. M., in his work entitled "The 
Conquest of Mexico, says: "With the fall of that city 
the pueblos in the vicinity, twelve in number, made sub- 
mission, and were visited and taken possession of in the 
name of the King of Spain. As was the custom in those 
days with Spanish conquerors all over the world, as soon 
as the Pueblos had been brought to military subjection 
they were delivered over to the pious zeal of the priests 
tor the purpose of being reduced to spiritual obedience." 

From that period to the present great zeal has been 
manifested by the Roman Catholic Church in Nev/ Mex- 
ico, to induce these Indians to adopt the rites and Cere- 



—34— 

monies of that church, but Mr. John Ward, sajs : (See 
his report in the report of the Commissioner of Indian Af- 
fairs for 1864.) 

"The Pueblos are all nominally Roman Catholics, and, ae 
far as can be discerned, appear to be sincere and earnestly 
devoted to the rites of that church. Each town has its 
church edifice, which is held in high respect. The peo- 
ple esteem and obey their priests. They generally mar- 
ry, baptize, and bury according to the rules of that 
sect. The holy days are generally attended to, Each 
has its patron saint, whose name the pueblo bears, (with 
few exceptions,) and whose aniversary is never neglect- 
ed. On that day a great feast takes place, and afteir 
the ceremonies pertaining to the church are over, which 
occupy the first part of the day, amusements of all kinds 
are universally resorted to; such as foot-racing, horse- 
racing, cock-fighting, gambling, dancing, eating and 
drinking, with the usual accompaniments. On such oc^ 
casions liberality is an especial virtue, and no pains 
are spared to make everybody welcome. Some of the 
Pueblos are noted for these feasts, and great numbers 
from distant parts of the country flock thitherto enjoy the 
amusements and share their hospitalities." He also says x 
"Independent of the foregoing, however, there is every 
reason to believe that the Pueblos still adhere to their 
native belief and and ancient rites. That most of them 
have faith in Montezuma is beyond a doubt, but in 
what light it is diflScult to say, as they seldom or never 
speak of him, and avoid conversations on the subject. 
Like other people, they do not like to be questioned 
on subjects which they believe to concern no one 
but themselves." It is stated by some that the 
Montezuma of the Pueblo Indians is not the Montezuma 
ot the conquest, but an agent of the Spanish govern- 



—35— 

ment, chosen to protect the rights and interests of the 
Pueblos. Be this as it may, one thing is certain: that 
this view of the subject diffei*s entirely from that of the 
Indians. They believe to this day that Montezuma 
originated in New Mexico, and some go so far as to de- 
signate his birth-place. In this they differ, however, some 
affirmino- that he was born at the old pueblo of Pecos, 
and others that his birth-place was an o^ld pueblo locat- 
ed near Ojo Caliente, the ruins of which are still to be 
Been. It is supposed that Montezuma was not the ori- 
ginal name of this demigod, but one bestowed on him 
after he had proved the divinity of his mission. A docu- 
ment is now extant purporting to be copied from one of 
the legends at the capitol of Mexico, in which it is stated 
that Montezuma was born in "Teguayo," one of the an- 
cient pueblos of New Mexico,, in the yeor 1538. This 
account makes him out more of a prophet than anything 
else. He- foretold events that actually came to pass, and 
it is related of him that he performed many wonderful 
things." From all I have been able to learn I am fully 
convinced that the Montezuma who was iield in such rev- 
erence by the pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizo- 
na, was a descendant of the Montezumas, (Kings of Mex- 
ico,) and who was looked upon both as a king and priest, 
subordinate only to "the Great Spirit," whom they believe 
to be represented by"the Sunj the great orb of day, and 
the representative of light and heat." Hence they kept 
burninof upon their altars in ih^ir estvfas (places of wor- 
ship) fire, the earthlj representative of that light and heat 
imparted by tha sun, and I have reason to believe that to 
this day these edifices are used for this purpose* • 

During the past few years, I have visited most of th© 
pueblos (Indian towns) now extant, and also the ruins of 
others which have been abandoned. Lieutenant Thomas 



—36— 

V. Keams, Mr. W. Pell, and my son William E. Arny 
in 1870, visited west^f the Rio Grande, the ruins of some 
of these towns now totally uninhabited, but which indi- 
cate that in former years they were occupied by a large, 
industrious population, who, in intelligence, must have 
been far in advance of the present Indians of that coun- 
try. The most interesting of these abandoned pueblos 
that I have seen is the '^Pecos Pueblo,^' located twenty- 
five miles east of Santa Fe. The ruins indicate that in 
former days this pueblo was in the possession of a numer- 
ous and powerful race of people. 

Mr, Davis, in his work, "Conquest of Mexico," in 
writing of * 'the Pecos Pueblo," says : "Many curious 
cases are related of the superstitions customs of the 
Pueblos, among which is the following told of the 
Pecos Indians : 'It is said that Montezuma kindled a 
sacred fire in the 'Estufa' of that pueblo, and commanded 
that it should be kept burning uutil he came back to del- 
iver them from the Spaniards. He was expected to ap- 
pear with the rising sun, and every morning the Indians 
r.scended to the tops of the houses and strained their eyes 
lookinfT to the east for the appearance of their deliverer 
and king. The task of watching the eacred fire was as- 
si^-ned to the warriors, who served by turns for a period 
of two days and two nights without eating or drinking, 
and some say that they remained upon duty until death 
or exhitustion relieved them. The remains of those who 
died from the effects of watching are said to have been 
carried to the den of a great serpent, which appears to 
have lived upon such delicacies. The tradition that the 
eacred fire was kept burning until the village v/as aban- 
doned, is generally believed by both Indians and Mexi- 
cans, but their deliverer never came and when the fire 
went out, from what cause is not known, the survivors of 



-37— 

the Pecos found new honaes west of the Rio Grande." 
During the period that I was acting governor of New 
Mexico in 1863, I was visited at Santa Feon several oc- 
casions by a venerable Pueblo Indian who, from the data 
he gave me, was supposed to be about ninety years of age. 
He was a Pecos Pueblo Indian, at that time living west 
of the Rio Grande. He corroborated (from tradition) 
the statements made in the extract from the "Conquest 
of Mexico" except that his version was that twelve virgin 
daughters of the head men of the town were selected 
annually, whose duty it was to keep the fire burning— 
that the virgins fell asleep, and the fire went out — that 
these virgina were degraded by the Indians, and the town 
deserted, believing as they did, that the loss of the fire 
indicated the displeasure of Montezuma, so far as that 
pueblo was concerned. He condescended to infornv me 
that all the Pueblos now in secret perform rites and cere- 
monies, looking still for the return of Montezuma. This 
is corroborated by the much lamented General Kit Car- 
son, who is the only person I know of, who has been 
permitted to enter their estufas, and witnessed on one 
occassion their worship, which was a dance in the estufa 
around|the "altar of fire."' Last summer I visited some of 
the Pueblos at the time of their great feasts, but was not 
permitted to enter the estufa. The outside worship was 
a blending of the Roman- Catholic ceremonies with some 
of their own heathen rites, the principal of which was 
"THE CACAINA," a dance, at which time they make offer- 
ings of flour, corn and . other articles. On the occasion 
of their great feasts I noticed that in the morning at sun- 
rise they were on the house tops with their faces turned 
towards the risingf sun. 

Eaeh village contains an estufa, partially built under 
ground, and so inclosed that it cannot be entered withrnt 



—38— 

the consent of those in charge. It is constructed of 
"adobes" (sun-dried brick,) and the entrance is from the 
roof to which they ascend by a ladder. The towns are 
built of the same material, and there is evidence in docu- 
ments on file in the office of the Secretary of the Territo- 
ry that some of the buildings were erected nearly two 
hundred years ago. Many of the houses are from two to 
five stories in height, and are entered by ladders reaching 
to the roof, from whence admission is effected by a kind 
of a trap-door to the interior — this mode of entrance was 
evidently adopted for defence and protection from hostile 
Indians. 

Each town has a separate organized government of its 
own, but all are nearly the same, as most of them adhere 
to ancient customs and laws. The officers consist of a 
governor, lieutenant governor, Cacique war captain and 
his lieutenant, a constable, and a superintendent of 
(asceques) ditches for irrigation. The governor, and I 
believe, other officers, are elected annually. The caci- 
que holds his office for life. 

It cannot be denied that these Indians are deserving of 
the fostering care of the Government. For more than 
two hundred years it is known that they have maintained 
themselves and sought to live in peace with all mankind, 
and that, owing to the cupidity and avarice of those who 
claimed to be more civilized, they are to-day in no better 
condition than they were at the time of the discovery and 
conquest of Mexico. 

It has been considered a difficult problem what is the 
proper disposition to be made of these Pueblo Indians? 
The proper question is, what shall be done with them? 
They are in the midst of and surrounded by rar popula- 
tion, without any authority to mingle in our political af- 
fairs. These people have never received aid from the 



'Government, they have always been self-sustaining, and 
are a living evidence that Indians can sustain themselves, 
in spite of oppression and frequent raids against them. 
They, however, -must necessarily have, and are entitled 
to, the same protection that is afforded to the most favor- 
ed. It is a well known fact that they own portions of the 
richest valley lacds in the Territory, and that unless they 
are protected by the Government from land sharks, they 
will in a few years become dependent — paupers — and it is 
inevitable that they must be olaves (dependents) or 
equals. 

The voluntary efforts they have made for the protec- 
tion of our frontier citizens against the savage Indians, 
their manifest willingness to sustain the Government of 
the United States, and their constantly expressed desire 
to make available all the means in their power for the im- 
provement of their moral and political condition demand 
that the United States Government should do something 
for them so ac to qualify them for citizenship. This can 
only be done by a system of industrial education, which 
can be established and carried out at a comparatively small 
expense to the Government, and which would finally be 
of incalculable benefit to our citizens, to the Indians, and 
3 great economy to the Government. 

Were Congress to appropriate twenty thousand dollars 
for the first year, and ten thousand dollars per annum for 
four succeeding years, to be expended under the direction 
of the Secretary of the Interior in the establishment of 
an industrial normal school, with a woolen factory, and a 
nurseryin which to rear all kluds of fruit trees, and place 
in that school all the orphan children of the Pueblos, and 
some of the orphan children of the different savage tribes, 
there to educate and qualify them, or the most intelligent 
of them, as teachers, so that they can keep schools in the 



—40— 

piieblos and on the various reservations where the savage 
Indians are placed, lam satisfied that, with an appropri- 
ation of sixty thousand dollars to be thus expanded du- 
ring the next five years, at the end of that period such an 
institution would be self-Bustainiag, and that, after a few 
years, twenty or thirty competent teachers could be sup- 
plied from the mstitution annually. In these schools in 
my ©pinion, no religious denominational opinions should 
be taught. Teach our Indians to read and write, and let 
them learn their religion from books and missionaries sup- 
ported by the church. 

The Pueblos are industrious, and produce all the neces- 
saries of life. The lands they possess are amply suffi- 
cient for their maintenance, they, therefore need only as- 
sistance in the way of education and agricultural and me- 
chanical implements to aid them. They are in everyway 
qualified to receive and profit by the judicious expenditure, 
of a few thousand dollars. 

They can thus be elevated and made an instrument to 
civilize the savage Indians and aud to the material wealth 
of the country, and be ultimately fitted to enjoy and bar*- 
monize with the political and civil institutions of our landk 

There are probably nearly thirty thousand wild Indians 
who roam over a large portion of the vast extent of coun- 
try comprising the Territories of Colorado, New Mexico 
and Arizona. In 1540 the Emperor of Spain began aa 
effort to conpfuor these Indians and to settle them in towns 
as were the Pueblos. At that period history develops 
the fact that there were two classes of Indians — firstj 
those who lived in towns, and secondly, those who roam- 
ed over the country without any fixed place of abode, and 
history from that period to the present day shows that 
Spain, Mexico and the United States have all failed m 
thieir efforts to conquer by force of arms these Indiana. 



^41— 

Three yeara ago these Indiana were no more civih'zed, 
christianized, and settled than they were at that period, 
as described by Castanadas. The aggressive policy has 
been pursued from the day of Don Juan Oiiate, in the 
year 1595. It is now, however, hoped that the wise In- 
dian policy of President Grant, which is placing them on 
reservations will make them peaceful citizens and a bles- 
sing to themselves and this country. 

The Indians and their invaders have mutually plunder- 
ed each other, and each has reaped the bitter fruits of this 
barbarous policy, a policy which, in my opinion and ex- 
perience, will ever render the lives and property of our 
citizens insecure. Millions of dollars have been expended 
in fruitless expedition?. to conquer them, while one-half of 
which, if it had been expended in feeding, clothing, and 
establishing schools and treating the Indians with kindness 
and cultivating peace with them, on the christian plan,, 
would have accomplished the desired object. 

Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona are pastoral 
countries unsurpased in the United States for the rearing 
of stock, with but little expense and in great abundance ; 
the climate the nature of the country, and abundance of 
nutritious grasses throughout the year fits this coimtry 
peculiarly for the rearing of sheep and cattle, with no 
expense but that of a few herders to look after them, as 
they are never fed or housed at any season of the year. 
But unfortunately for the prosperity of the settlers, the 
numerous bands of Indians who heretofore roamed over 
this country have not until lately been collected together 
nor subjected to the restraints of civilized life. Having 
been trained from generation to generation to steal and 
plunder whenever necessity required them to do so, it i» 
not strange or wonderful that many outrages have been 
committed and much valuable property plundered fronj^ 



—42— 

ihe people annually, nor is it sti^tige that the people 
should ask earnestly and often, "Is this never to cease, 
and the innocent and'helpless sufferers be protected in 
their lives, homes, and property?" 

In 1846, when General Kearney took possession of 
New Mexico, he promised to the people on the part of 
the United States protection from the depredations of 
these Indians. This promise was agam made by the 
United States Governnient in 1848, by the treaty of 
Guadalupe Hidalgo. The law of reason and common 
sense teaches us that v/hen the people surrender to the 
Government their allegiance, and in all things conform to 
the mandates of the supreme law, that protection of life 
and property is obligatory upon the Government in the 
fullest degree, for without it the ends of Government are 
not attained. It is the duty, and interest of a nation not 
only to make itself great and powerful, but also to make 
itself beloved ; and the rendition of speedy justice to the 
injured and oppressed is the strongest and most enduring 
tie of affection between the people and the nation. 

The past policy of the Governments of Spain, Mexico, 
and the United States in regard to these Indians has evi- 
dently been a wrong one. It has cost millions of dollars 
in military armaments and other War expenses ; millions 
more in the less of property by the depredations of these 
•Indians and thousands of lives, and till lately protection 
has not been assured to the settlers and miners, so that 
this vast and rich country can have ita great resources de- 
■ %'eloped. 

It is not necessary for me to dilate upon this subject, 
for v,hen the present administration came into power this 
fact was recognized by it, and another method of dealing 
with the Indian question to a great extent was adopted, 
and no one can doubt that the object of the administration 



—43— 

with all the past history of Indian affairs before it, in as- 
suming the policy it has done, intended to inaugurate a 
aystem of treating the Indians which to it seemed best 
calculated to promote the interests of these savage people, 
as well as protect the rights of the citizens of the country. 

This policy is undoubtedly the peace policy, and is in 
accordance with the noble words of General Grant when 
informed of his nominati >r to the Presidency. They 
were — "Let us have Peace." Not peace alone among 
ourselves as citizens of the United States, but peace eve- 
rywhere within our borders, with the red man as well as 
the white. Taking up the matter as to Indians in this 
light, as we understand the Indian policy of the Adminis- 
tration, it is that of benevolent humaniy, and not deroga- 
tory to Christianitv or the spirit of the age in which we 
line. To perform its engagements with the Indians as 
far as possible, in strict compliance with treaty stipulations 
where treaties have been made, to be just towards the In- 
dians in all respects, treat them with kindness and "feed 
them lather than fight them," and place them in a position 
on reservations where they can have schools and be taught 
industrial pursuits, and thus make them self-sustaining, 
and see whether in the end such a policy will not be more 
conducive to the future good of both the country and the 
Indians. 

I understand that it is not the intention of the Govern- 
ment to war upon all Indians because some of thein do 
wrong; that it will punish individual Indians, bands, and 
tribes that are hostile, while there will be discrimination 
between the innocent and the guilty. But indiscriminate 
slaughter of the Indians, we believe, is not the programme 
of the Administration, but to extend the benevolent hand 
of christian charity, and thus winning them closer and 
closer to the acknowledgment of that great power under 



—44— 

which they live, and to which they must be in subjection. 
This being the policy of the government, it becomes nec- 
essary to obtain efficient agents, men of experience, and, 
if possible, married men, who will take their wives and 
families to the agencies with them, and who should be ap- 
pointed for life or good behavior, and, if possible, men 
who have had long experience with, and who have the 
confidence of the Indinns. 

From a long-continued residence among, or in the im- 
mediate vicinity of the Indians of the Rocky mountains, 
and from a personal observation of their manners, habits 
and customs, acquired both in private life and during the 
transactions of offi^cial business as agent of the Federal 
Government, I feel justified in urging the views of the 
Indian peace commissioners, in regard to the disposition 
of the Navajoes^ Apaches, and Utahs, of New Mexico, as 
also the aid necessary for the Pueblos ; the establishment 
of an industrial normal school, as proposed for the quali- 
fication of teachers for all Indians, and, as recommended 
by the Friends, the establishment of "a sufficient number 
of industrial schools on each reservation to accomodate all 
the children of both sexes, who are of sufficient age to 
attend them, in which, besides school education some will 
be taught to be farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, millers, 
both grinding and sawing, &c., and the girls mstructed in 
all kinds of household duties , to sew, use the sewing 
machine, spin, knit, weave, &c.," will do more '*to civi- 
lize, christianize, and make self-sustaining" the Indians 
than five times the amount of money expended in any 
other way. 

jNIy experieace, which is confirmed by that of my old 
colaborer General Kit Carson has convinced me of a firm, 
yet just, government of these Indians, which should be 
consistent and unchangeable ; the Indian judging only by 



—45— 

ilie eflPect of that which appeals to his senses, as brought 
directly before his observation, regards with contempt a 
weak aud indecisive policy, as the result of hesitation and 
cowardice, while a capricious one his apprehension and 
distrust. Hence if it were decided to compel the Indian 
to submission by military power, the force should be ade- 
quate to the accomplishment of that end, and would re- 
quire an army and involve an expense of millions of dol- 
lars to conquer the Indians of New Mexico and Arizona. 
Believing, as I do, that it is cheaper and far more hu- 
mane "to feed than to fight the Indians," I urge, as the 
correct plan, to feed them largely, generously, and there 
will be no trouble ; this is better than to have them raid- 
ing upon settlers, destroying property, running off stock, 
robbing mails, scalping our miners, and preventing the 
development of the resources of the country. We must 
feed and clothe them before we can properly civilize and 
christianize them. And to do this they must be placed 
upon reservations, under the control of persons in whom 
they have confidence, and who have the experience and 
ability to direct their labor and instruction. 

STOCK-RAISING IN NEW MEXICO. 

For the profitable raising of horses, mules, cattle, 
goats and sheep, and on the most extensive scale, no por- 
tion of the world can rival this district. Its mild climate 
presents no rigors, while its mountain slopes, valleys, 
and plains are unlimited extents of pasturage. The 
grasses of the plains and mountain slopes are not the 
least of nature's wonders. The "grama" and "mezquite" 
varieties have a peculiar tenacity to life, and survive a suc- 
cession of dry seasons, and, when apparently dead, a 
few showers will bring them out in full freshness j indeed. 



—46— 

it is said they change from a single shower. These grasses 
are sweet and nutritious, dry or green, and cattle thrive 
upon them and fatten. They cure in the dry season in 
the stalks, making a natural hay. 

SHEEP. 

About the year 1540, over three hundred and thirty 
years ago, a small lot of Spanish Merino sheep were in- 
troduced into this country from Spain, and from this im° 
portation the present sheep owned by our Mexican citizens 
and the Pueblo and Navajo Indians, were derived. Ow- 
ing to the constant "breeding in" without much change 
in the stock, or atten>pts at improvement, these sheep 
have degenerated and desreased in size and quality of wool 
yet in various respects the mutton and wool of New Mex- 
ico is better than that of the States; this arises from the 
fact that the climate and grasses are adapted to this class 
of animals, and it shows the advantage of this country 
over other portions of our land for the rearing of this 
kind of stock. At the commencement of the rebellion, 
I found, that in this country, sheep owners were raising 
their stock not for the wool, but for the meat which 
was of better flavor and more nutritious than the mutton 
of the States. The wool was allowed to go to waste 
and be dragged off the sheep's back while passing through 
the brnsh. I was offered the wool of whole flocks of 
sheep for nothing if I would shear them. 

About this same time much complaint was made, in 
regard to the shoddy clothing furnished to the brave de- 
fenders of our glorious Union. I felt we had the means 
to supply the soldiers with warm and substantial clothing 
and good blankets, and in order to call attention to it, I 
procurred a handsome Navajo blanket, made of the native 
wool of this country, and presented it to the lady of the 



—47-— 

president's mansion, the wife of our much lamented mar- 
tyred President Lincoln. I also took to the agricultural 
department in Washington, various samples oi woo! 
which are in the cabinet of the department sewed on cards, 
and which show the quality of the wool our sheep pro- 
duce, without any attention to their improvement, or care 
in their rearing. The result of this display was a de- 
mand for our Mexican wool, which proved to be a better 
quality of "combing v/ool," than could be found in the 
States, and a gradual increase of the price of our wool 
from nothing up fo twenty and thirty cents per pound. — 
This encouraged a number of our sheep raisers to endeav- 
or to improve their stock, among whom was our enterpri- 
sing fellow ciiizen, Lucien B. Mazwell, then of Cimar- 
ron. He had brought from the States good fine Merino 
buck^, and did all he could to improve his sheep ; his at- 
tention at that time was called more to the improvement 
of the wool than the quality and quantity of the meat. 
Afterwards when Messrs. P. R. Skinner & Co. brousfht 
between forty and fifty Cotswold bucks to our Territory, 
Maxwell did all he could to encourage them in their enter- 
prise believing it to be of benefit not only to his stock, 
but also that it would result in the improvement of all the 
sheep of this country. 

Two years ago they commenced the trial of an experi- 
ment in crossing the full blood Cotswold buck with the 
native Mexican ewe. They brought from Connecticut 
about fifty full blood Cotswold bucks, bred from, imported 
sheep by one of the most reliable and popular breeders of 
fine, pure blood sheep in the United States. . Messrs. 
Skinner & Co. obtained about 3,000 Mezican ewes and 
located in the north east portion of New Mexico, in Col- 
fax county, on Dry Cimarron. The lambs were much 
larger and finer than their most sanguine expectations. 



and exhibit to a much greater degree, the leading and de- 
sirable characteristics of the Cotswbld sheep, than was 
expected ; some of the lambs weighed at six hours old 
from twelve to fifteen pounds each, and at seven days old 
from tv/enty to twenty-five pounds each ; at two tiionths 
old many of them are larger and heavier than their moth- 
ers, and promise so far as can now be judged an average 
fleece of five pounds of Vv^ooi but little inferior in quality 
to the pure Cotswolds. The pure blooded bucks average 
eleven pounds of wool per lieece, and the Mexican ewes 
from one and a half to two pounds. The introduction of 
Cotswold and other varieties of long or combing wool 
eheep in the United States took place not very many 
years ago, and its progress has been comparatively slow 
consequently very few wool growers have learned as yet 
their superiority for wool and mutton. In the New Eng- 
land states, in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, it has 
repeatedly been demonstrated that the Cotswold with an 
average fleece of ten or eleven pounds crossed with the 
native or common ewes, with an average fleece of four 
pounds, produces a sheep whose fleece will average nine 
pounds, in quality very little inferior to the Cotswold. 

Early in the seventeenth century the long-legged Afri- 
can or Guinea sheep were introduced into Europe by the 
Dutch, and distributed among the Islands near the Tex- 
ei and in Gronigen and Friesland where they were crossed 
with the common sheep of the country producing the 
animal known there at the present time as the "Texef 
or "Mouton Flaadrin" breed of sheep. At the period 
of the introduction of this breed of sheep in Europe 
some highly exagerated accounts of them were given 
says Youatt, by the writers of the time. 

Corneille states that "they produced Iambs twice in 
the year ; (this is not improbable, as the sheep belong* 



— 4'9— 

ing to tlie Navajo Indians of New Mexico do,) and 
usually three lamba at a time, sometimes four and five 
and occasionally seven at one yeaning." This, continues 
Youatt, is quite incredible, and Corneille himself ac- 
knowledges that it was "only on their first arrival from 
the east that they were thus prolific, but they were, 
and still are justly valued for their size, beauty of form 
and abundant produce of long and fine wool, milk and 
lambs. 

The Texel sheep have not been extensively introduced 
into the United States. American sheep breeders o-en- 
orally preferring to import the well-known and well-tried 
British breeds of mutton sheep ; it has however been 
stated that the late Col. Jacques of the ten hills farm of 
Somerville, Massachusetts^ imported sheep from the 
Netherlands in 1823, and the Massachussetts Agricult- 
ural Repository and Journal, records the importation 
of some sheep from the same source, by the late Col. 
Thomas H. Perkins, of Brooklyn, Massachusetts, in 
1824. They were called the long wooled sheep of the 
Netherlands. It is not known whether these sheep 
were of the true Texel breed, nor is it probable that 
pure blooded animals descended from that importation 
are now in existence. 

An importation of a small flock of Texel sheep was 
made by Winthrop W. Chinery, Esq., of Belmont Mass. 
in the spring of 1863. They were procured in Fries- 
land near the Texel, and shipped at Rotterdam, Holland, 
for the port of Boston, Mass. The importation consisted 
of one buck and seven ewes when put on board the shij), 
but on their arrival at Boston, after a voyage of eighty- 
one days, the flock was found to have increased to seven- 
teen animals, nine lambs having been produced on the 
passage aflfording strong corroborrative evidence of the 



—so- 
good qualities of the ewes as nurses and also of the . 
hardiness of the breed. The live weight of the buck of 
this importation in good condition was over two hundred 
pounds and the ewes varied in weight from one hundred 
and forty-five to one hundred asd seventy-five pounds 
each. Their fleeces averaged over ten pounds each and 
their wool is considered by manufacturers superior either 
to the Cotswold or Leicester. 

COTSWOLP SHEEP, 

In tue report of the United States Commissioner of 
Agriculture page 340, I find the following, which I 
believe of sufficient importance to our sheep raisers to 
transcribe here : 

"The maple shade flock of Cotswold sheep imported 
and owned by Mr. John D. Wing of Nev/ York con- 
sists of selected anhuals of the best flocks of thorough 
bred sheep, many of them, being secured by Mr. Wing 
personally v/hiie in England, they are strictly pure with- 
out a crosi?,' and every sheep has a reliable pedigree. 
Most of them were bred by William Lane of Broadfield 
his name standing at the head of the breeders in the Cots- 
wold hills. ^ * * * * * 

These sheep are known for their heavy and valuable 
fieece, their mutton, proportions and strong constitution. 
The wool is very long, with bright lustre, known as comb- 
ing jvcol in, our markets, being the most desirable and 
highest priced of any. It averages over twelve inches in 
length, sometimes as long as eighteen inches, and the 
fleeces weigh from ten to fifteen pounds each, some bucks' 
fleeces as high as sixteen or eighteen pounds. Mr. Wing 
says his flock averages twelve pounds. They are highly 
valued for mutton, v>'hen fattened thej grow to a very 
large wt;i2[ht, in some cases attaining three hundred and 



—51— 

3fty pounds. They are very hardy and capable of enduring 
much exposure. The sheep from this flock have carried 
off the highest honors, and the prize ram "golden fleece" 
was shown at Auburn fair of ths New York state sheep 
breeder and wool growers association in May, 1867, when 
he took the first prize in the class and also the sweep-stake 
prize, he sheared on this occasion, nineteen pounds four 
and a half ounces of wool. He was purchased in Eng- 
land for 230 guineas, (over 1200 dollars)^ and claimed 
to be the highest priced Cotswold sheep ever sold. Profes- 
sor J. R. Dodge, of the agricultural department, Wash- 
ington City, very aptly says : "Profit is the golden beacoo 
which guides th farmer's course. Like other men he is 
propelled by the pecuniary motive with the power of the 
locomotive, and to direct him in a certain course, it is only 
necessary to show that it will prove remunerative." I 
propose to quote some of his facts to show how remu- 
nerative the growing of combing wool and rearing of Cots- 
wold sheep is. 

LONG WOOL ETC. 

Professor J. R. Dodges in the U. S. Agricultural re- 
port for 1866, says, those who decry long wool, should 
remember that long wool has been quite as rife and rapid 
during the past generation in those breeds, as in the pam- 
pered Merino. If a comparison be made, let it be be. 
tween immense numbers, and not between isolated indi- 
viduals. The sheep of this country mainly of Merino 
blood average fleeces of five and a half pounds ;; those of 
Great Britain -mostly long and middle wools average from 
four to five pounds^ according to Wilson, vrhile others 
make a higher estimate. After allowing for extra weight 
of the latter, it will readily be seen that the boasted eu- 
')Griority of the- Merino in proportion of avqoI to the live 



—52— 

weight of the animal, is more mythical than real. "Whole 
flocks of improved Cotswold sheep yield eight pounds each, 
and the tendency of recent English improvements is still 
to heavier weio^hts. Lars^e fleeces of all breeds are oc- 
casionally noted in this country as well as England, a few 
cases will suffice as evidence. At Auburn, New York, 
fair May, 10th, 1867, the Cotswold ram, "golden fleece," 
two years old owned by Mr. John D. Wing sheared nine- 
teen pounds four and a half ounces, 381 days from the 
previous shearing. The growth of twelve months would 
therefore be eighteen pounds and five and a half ounces. 
The length of the wool was nine and a quarter inches, 
A ram of the same flock sheared eighteen pounds and 
nine ounces, fourteen inches in length. Other s^^ecimens 
forwarded to Dr. Randall to be used by the committee au- 
thorized by the Secretary of the Treasury for the selec- 
tion of tariff samplss, represent fleeces scarcely less in 
weight. One fleece of a ram teg thirteen months old. 
bred by L. Converse, Bucyrus, Ohio, length ten and 
three quarter inches, weighed ten and a half pounds. A 
fleece of a Lincoln ram two jears old, owned by Hon. 
Samuel Campbell and R. Gibbon, New York, Mills, 
Oneida county, New York, weighed seventeen and three 
quarter pounds, another washed fleece from the same flock 
fifteen and three quarter pounds, last year eighteen 
pounds. The wool of these fleeces was ten and a half 
inches in length, of the kind known as luster wool, in 
'ireat demand for ladies' fabrics and bringing high prices. 
Beautiful samples of this wool, (says Professor Dodge,) 
very lustrous and fine, and about eleven inches long, are 
now before me as I write with a note from the owners 
ciaiming eleven pounds five ounce as the average weight 
of their fleeces, and fifteen and three-fourths pounds, and 
seventeen and three-fourths pounds respectively for fleeces 



—53— 

of their rams ; one ram weighs three hundred pounds — 
ewes in good order weigh two hundred poends. All have 
done well since their importation » 

It is stated that 60 years ago, an English maiden (a 
"spinster") spun 168,000 yards^ or 95 miles of thread 
from a pound of wool from a Lincoln ewe. A Bradford 
(England) manufacturer states that a twenty pound Lin- 
coln fleece used in an admixture with cotton in the finest 
"Alpaca" fabrics is sufficient for twelve pieces of 42 yards 
each and possibly 16 pieces of 672 yards in length, one 
yard wide worth at 75 cents per yard, more than $500. 

The same writer, says : "I have noticed a record of 
of the weight of five Cotswold wethers fed for the New 
York market, as follows : 217, 222, 204, 223 243. Five 
other wethers twenty-one months old averaged 188 pounds 
these weights are not extraordinary but are easily attained 
at an early age.'* 

A writer from Carrol county, Kentucky, says : "The 
sheep most profitable in our county are the Cotswolds and 
their grades. They will consume probably one-fourth 
more food than the fine wool sheep, but are hardy, need- 
ing no shelter, and generally live the entire winter on our 
blue grass pastures without other food, producing from 6 
to 10 pounds of wool per sheep, and from 60 to 100 
pounds of good mutton at one or two years old. I have 
(he says) ^bout 50 in my flock, of the Cotswolds and 
grades which I have taken as sample for the above state- 
ment. They have not eaten a single pound of hay or any- 
thing but what they have gathered for themselves m the 
pasture) winter or summer, for the last two years. The 
wooJ is worth just as it comes from the sheep unwashed, 
35 cents per pound ; the mutton is worth ten cents a 
pound." 



—54— 

The experiments already made by Messrs. Skionefc'^ 
Co. with their Cotswold sheep on Dry Cimarron show that 
'the same results will obtain in New Mexico, and should 
encourage our sheep owners to procure good sheep to im- 
prove their stock and increase their v/ealth, and thereby 
benefit themselves as well as increase the wealth of our 
Territory. 

Another reason for increased attention to long wools 
(combing wools) is the fact that new fabrics are introduced 
in great variety, especially for the various garments of 
ladies requiring soft or lustrous wools and are becoming 
daily mors popular and more widely disseminated. This 
state of things has caused a scarcity of long wools, and 
gives them an advantage in price over the most popular of 
merino wools of this country of fifteen or twenty percent. 
In England this change of place of long and short wools 
by which the long wool has exceeded the short wool in 
value as much as that'formerly led all others is thus re- 
ferred to : 

"There is a strong pecuniary inducement to use these 
wools, notwithstanding their price. They contain little 
oil or yolk; in scouring the loss is rarely twenty-five per 
cent, and often lees than tv/enty ; the loss in the merino 
is forty per cent and upwards, according as it is improved, 
the fleeces of prize bucks often reaching seventy 
per cent, of waste. Excluding these and taking the 
most desirable Ohio, grades, a comparison will show the 
superior economy of long wool to the manufacturer, pays 
seventy cents per pound at present prices , and loses fifty 
per cent, in scouring, making the clean wool one dollar 
and fifty cents. He buys Canada wool at eighty cents, 
and losses twenty per cent, leaving the cost of cleaned 
wool just one dollar per pound. Is it a wonder that manu- 
facturers will use all the long wool they can when it can 



—55— 

,;nake forty per cent, more cloth for the same money?" 
,By Canada wools the manufjicturer simply means Cots- 
ivolds, Leicester, Southdown, and their grades, must of 
%vhich came from Canada, where few other sheep are 
kept. It has also been remarked that ''there is a want 
which might be met by enlarged operations in rearing 
long wool flocks. The eastern markets with few ex.cep- 
tiona are miserably supplied with large fat lambs. Nor 
can it be otherwise v/ith our present flocks,. Merino 
Iambs will never satisfy the demand of enlightened eaters, 
six pounds is to the quarter of lean blue meat, at twelve 
weeks old, will never afford satisfaction to mutton con- 
t^umers, when fine fat quarters of twice that weight are 
obtainable. Nor v/ill it pay the sheep raiser to sell such 
3ambs and wethers for meat when those of double value 
could be produced in the same at a little more expense. 

It was thought that the prices of meat would decline 
at the close of the war, and some of our wise men in 
New Mexico, now say, produce sheep and wool in the 
ratio you propose and increase the quality and quantity 
of the meat, and you will reduce the price so that it will 
not pay to raise sheep in New Mexico, this cannot be 
the case for many yeairs' to come. The demand for long 
wool both in Europe a«d in this country, (for it is evident 
that in England the supply of combing wools is not suf- 
ficient for the demand) will make combing wools an art- 
icle which will be a source of wealth to the producer for 
many yearS yet in the future. 

In regard to the production of meat, an intelligent 
writer has said in language better than I ean express it, 
that "it should be rett6mbered that the war has some- 
what reduced our meat Supply. The war being soon over 
xhen a pastoral life will be quite too tame for soldiers, 
"aandthe waste of meats cannot soon be repaired. Many 



—56— . 

of the soldiers are machinists and arlizans. Thouaanda of 
them will repair to the mines of the Rocky Mountains ; 
and many will seek in trade and speculation in cities the 
excitement which they crave. IVIost of them are efficient 
consumers of meats ;. very few will be producers. Then 
our shores are swarming, and for years will swarm as 
never before, with foreign immigrants, hungry for meat, 
liowever poverty may have stinted their former supply. 
All these m^outhg and those of millions unborn, are to 
be supplied in the years of the immediate future. With 
what shall we feed them? Not with pork, becoming vast- 
ly dearer with the increased price of corn ; not altogether 
with beef, while there is such a demand for wool, and 
just precisely the kind of avooI produced by mutton sheep 
We must have mutton ; and sensible men with money in 
their pockets will pay prices that must command good 
mutton, and render its production highly profitable. 
Conditions now exist favoring adequate remuneration in 
this branch of husbandry that have never before been 
brought together in so potent a combination. There i» 
an opportunity to achieve a fame and a success in this, 
direction in a field as yet almost entirely new, that should 
engage the effort, capital and ambition of the enterpris- 
ing ; and there is little doubt that it will be promptly and 
successfully occupied by strangers if our own citizens do- 
not avail themselves of the opportunity. 

Those, therefore, who now eomm.«nce with judgment 
and energy the production of real superior mutton and" 
combing wools in New Mexico, will reap an abundant 
harvest of profit, and the earlier the start the quicker the 
reward, and that it will engage the attention of enterpri- 
sing people and meet their just expectations there is no>- 
room for doubt. 

The adapti: - '^he reorirri" -^^ t^ie vars- 



— 57— 

f)U9 kinds of stock, will m future years make .New Mexi- 
co a country from whence large supplies of meat for food, 
and wools for manufacturing clothing, will be derived, and 
which will be a great source of wealth to our citizens, 
while it will furnish healthy food for the dwellers in our 
large cities east of the Mississippi. 

The natural configuration oT this vast Rocky Mountain 
region is not the least of the many desirable advantages it 
{)resents. It is situated many thousand feet above tide 
water fanned by the purest atmosphere, and supplied with 
innumerable salubrious streams running from the moun- 
tain springs, and furnishing pure water, one of the essen- 
tial elements for the sustenance of both, man and beast. 
This country having a high and dry range so conducive to 
the health of all animals, especially sheep, which anin;kal, 
I believe, if properly reared and improved, will prove u 
greater source of wealth than even our untold and vast 
mineral deposits. The one we have in the earth- — the 
means of producing the other we have on the earth. The 
succession of mountain and valley aifords the most ample 
defence against the heat of summer as well as the bleak 
winds of Avinter ; artificial protection indispensable at the 
north and necessary in many of the states of this Union,, 
which is so apt to induce disease by which whole flocks and 
herds are sometimes lost, are rendered unnecessary in our 
more favored country. Our mesas and mountain gorges, 
and many portions of our valleys, are most prolific in iv 
variety of herbage suitable for alL classes of animals, but; 
especiall adapted to sheep, and during winter they aiFord 
a supply of pasturage so abundant that no additional food 
is required. The animals can have access to a continu- 
ous supply of good food and pure water during the win- 
ter, and by a judicious management the only expense of* 
rearing sheep and cattle in this country is the hire of her- 
ders, which is comparatively a trifle.. 



-58— 

Tiie constant supply bfproper food by which the secre- 
tory powers are retained in full action and uninterrupted 
increase of meat and fat in animals, and of growth of 
V ool on sheep, is promoted; while cases of constipation, 
and %'ariou3 diseases frequently fatal in the states by rea- 
son of sudden changes of. food, are unknown here, there 
;s scarcely a day in the year in which cattleand sheep can- 
not find sufScient food of a proper kind to keep their di- 
frestive or£:ans in a healthv condition. The soil m our 
mountain regions is generally good, and it is by no means 
uncommon to find it fertile and producing grama grass 
even to the tops of the mountains; and although there 
are to be found considernble bodies of thm soil, yet even 
are these more disposed to the production of grass than 
lands of abetter quality in the states. My experience for 
over thirty-five years in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and 111.- 
iiois, Kansas and New Mexico corrobora te, what is well 
known to all sheep raisers, that, when lands are freely 
' pastured by sheep, their capacity for producing grass i« 
" aiuch assisted, as by clo^e grazing the more useless grass- 
es, briers, ect., are subdued, and the desirable descrigt- 
ions allowed to strengthen their hold ; this together with 
the tramping of the land and the droppings of the sheep, 
induces a more prolific growth of good grass. 

In my travels over a large expanse of country within 
the limits of New Mexico and the eastern borders of Ari- 
zona, I have found growing wild clover, and several vari- 
eties of grass which indicate that they can be produced in 
this country by cultivation. It is only a question of time 
and the construction of railroads when this country, in 

' addition to its native grasses, which may be greatly in- 
creased, will have large meadows and pasture grounds of 
cultivated grasses, and it has been for nearly forty years 

-a favorite theory of mine, confirmed by my pra<;ticnl ob- 



—59— 

'SSrvatlon, that so far as the quaiky and relative coarse- 
ness and fineness of wool is concerned more depends up- 
on the character of the grass than upon any other one 
thing, except it may be, the constant change of the breed- 
ing animals. A otock raiser may determine by a judi- 
cious selection of his breed and 'the character of grass he 
allows them to use for food, the quality and quantity of 
the wool his flock of sheep will produce, and of course the 
quality of his wool' will regulate the price he will get in 
the market, and determine the profit arising from the in- 
vestment of his capital. This is especially so in regard 
to sheep, but is also to a great extent applicable to horsef, 
cattle, goats and hogs. 

CATTLE 

were imported into Virginia at an eariier date than Into 
Massachusetts, for as early as 1010 an edict was pnssed 
-by the governor prohibiting the killing of any domestic 
animals, among which were mentioned neat cattle on pen- 
alty of death to the principal offender, burning in the 
hand and loss of the ears to the accessory, and twenty- 
four hours whipping to the concealer." 

Sir Thomas Gates brought into Jamestown, in 1711 a 
large importation of a hundred head of Devonshire and 
Herefordshire. Cattle were also imported into Delaware 
by the Swedes, sent out by Gustavus Adelphus in 1627. 
The Spaniards at a very early period introduced them in- 
to the West Indies, w^hence they w ere afterward carried 
to the continent, and from which the wild cattle of Texas 
and New Mexico were derived. There is no doubt that 
the present cattle of New Mexico are susceptible of great 
improvement, and that there is a mine of wealth combin- 
ed in the cattle that could be produced and the rich and 
abundant grama andother grasses of our mesas and va!- 



leys. All that is wanting is the introduction of goad cat- 
tle from Europe and our Eastern States. 

The "native stock" of our cattle would be much im- 
proved by the introduction for beef or the dairy of the 
s^hort born Durhams, Ayershire, Devons, Herefords, and 
Jersey or Channel Island cattle. The short horns are 
generally the greatest favorites for beef from their large 
size and early maturity, though not making so fine beef as 
the Devons or Herefords. Those of our people who wish 
to improve their stock of cattle would do well to procure 
the several volumes of the American Herd Book, and ac- 
quaint themselves Avith the best animals to improve our 
native breeds. In 184G, Lewis F. Allen of Black Rock, 
New York, a laborious worker, a keen, shrewd judge of 
stock ot all kinds, published the first volume of the Amer- 
ican Herd Book ; Some years afterwards he continued it, 
and has published several volumes. This book, like the 
English Herd Book is of great labor and corresponding 
value. Either of them is regarded as authority, and in my 
opinion the American Herd Book should be owned by ev- 
ery breeder of cattle. 

My opinion is that for beef the short horns are the best 
tor New JNIexico. The Ayershire ^ives the greates flow 
of milk, the Jersey the richest, and the Devons make the 
best work cattle. No doubt the crossing of these breeds 
with our native, and recrossing back, in various ways, 
would help very much to improve our old "native stock," 
by adding to them one or another of these desirable qual- 
ities, we would then have better milkers, better beef cat- 
tle, and better work oxen at three years than at six and 
seven years now, and one animal would then be worth 
more than three are now. They would fatten easier and 
at less expense, and our work, cattle would be much im- 
proved ; though in many parts of the country as it be- 



—61— 

comes settled we find liorses are to a considerable extent 
superseding for farnn purposes the patient ox. In many 
parts however, oxen will continue to be used and appre- 
ciated, and will be better trained. 

HORSES. 

No department connected with the breeding of domestic 
animals in New Mexico lias received so little attention 
as the production of first class horses. While we have all 
kinds of horseflesh, and some very hardy and splendid 
riding animals, derived from California and the wild nat- 
ive ponies of the country, "broncos" and "mustangs" wc 
have scarcely any thorough bred or blood horses, and very 
little is known by our farmers in regard to the improve- 
ment of our horses. There is no subject upon which 
I cannot say probably more, than upon that of the sub- 
ject which heads this article ; as I see, however, that 
under the head of "Lost Races," a gentleman is get- 
ting up a list of the horses that have been beaten in the 
the various races of the country. I may be able to say 
something on the. subject of the improvement of horses, 
not with reference to the subject of producmg fast horses 
(as I do not a[)prove of racing horses) but in regard to 
animals for work and use for transportation, etc., for 
sometime I have thought much in regard to the subject 
of beating horses (not in races) but as it has reference 
to the organization of "a society for the prevention of 
cruelty to animals," as many beat and abuse their horses 
burros and mules in New Mexico, in such a manner that 
it is impossible to have good serviceable animals. I 
thank Providence that to some extent I have been able 
to correct this evil in my own immediate neighborhood 
except Avith one man, and I trust ere long, he will be 
induced to believe that kindness to a dumb animal is far 



better than a beating. He will certainly learn a leason- 
if he should find himself again on the roof of a house with 
his horse, or rolling down the side of a mountain with 
his horse after him. There is certainly a good field of 
labor in New Mexico for Mf. Bergh of New York or 
my good friend ^Fay of Massachusetts, and I know I 
would rejoice to see either or both of them here, they 
mifht be able to tell us of some substitute for horseflesh 
for the Indians of New Mexico. I will, however, give 
them notice in advance, that they will be compelled to 
ascertain what is better as food and be fortified with argu- 
ments to convince the Indians that good fat beef or mutton 
is better than the meat of %. wcrn-out and abused horse 
or mule v/hich the wild indians prefer. 

In an article on "The horses of the United States" by 
Colonel Riogv«'alt of Downington, Pennsylvania, he says : 

"The United States contains a much large: number of 
horses than any European country. In I860', we posses- 
sed 7,431,681. A few yeara -ago the horses in Europe 
were supposed to number 22,430,000; of Africa 3,000,- 
000 : of Asia 25,000,000, and of the whole world nearly 
59,000,000. So that we have more than one eighth of 
the whole race. Our country has proved as genial a home 
for the horse as for hie master. As we exceed all other 
nations in the number so v/e have gained the questiona- 
ble pre-eminence of an unprecedented variety in the breeds 
of our horses. Emigrants from Europe naturally brought 
with them, at different times, the animal with which they 
were most familiar. The Spaniards took to the South 
West and to Mexico, whence they escaped into Texas, 
California, New Mexico, Colorado and the plains, their 
famous barbs, which were formerly regarded, as a supe- 
rior breed, and which in their best condition are but little 
infer; 'tr to tho Arabian. Some of the finest thorough 



—63— 

breds of England are , derived from this race. 
The wild horses of our plains occa&ioally excite the 
warm admiration of critical observers. Washington Ir- 
ving, in his "Tour on the Prairie," gives frequent expres- 
pression to his feelings ; and as the race is now disappear- 
ing as rapidly as the buffalo, one of that writer's descrip- 
tions may.be appropriately quoted : " On resuming our 
march we came to a little meadow surrounded by groves 
of elms and Cottonwood trees, in the midst of which was 
a fine black horse grasipg. Beattie (a half breed guide) 
who was in advance beckoned us to halt, and being mount- 
ed on a mare approached the horse gently, step by step, 
imitating the whining of an animal, with admirable exact- 
ness. The noble courser of the prairie gazed for a time, 
snuiFed the air, pricked up his ears, and pranced round 
and round the mare in gallant style, but kept at too great 
a distance for Beattie to throw the lariat. He was a majj- 
nificent object, in all the pride and giory of his nature. 
It was admirable to see the lofty and airy carriage of his 
head, the freedom of evQry movement, the elasticity with 
which he trod the meadov/-., Finding it impossible to get 
within noosing distance, and seeing that the horse was re- 
ceding and growing alarmed Beattie slid down from his 
saddle, leveled his rifle across the back of hia mare, and 
took aim with the evident intention of creasing him. I 
felt a throb of anxiety for the safety of the noble animal 
and called out to Beatte to desist. It was too late, ho 
pulled the trigger as I spoke. Luckily, he did not shoot 
with his usual accuracy, and I had the satisfaction to see 
the coal-black steed dash off unharmed into the forest.'." 

In the statistics found on page forty-seven of the Agri- 
cultural report for 1869 is a table showing the number 
and value of the horses in the United States which 
shows 8,248,800 horses valued at |$671,319,461 ; in the 



—64— 

territories it is stated there are sixty thousand horses val- 
ued at $3,600,000. Ihis amount could be doubled in 
New Mexico alone in the next ten years, with care and 
proper attention to raising and improving the horses of 
our Territory. 

The wild Indians of New Mexico number as follows, 
viz : 

Navajoes, 8,500 

Apaches, 4,502 

Utes, 1,347 



Total 14,349. 

Two years ago when I took the census of these Indians 
I found in their possession 10,908 horses, some of which 
-\vere of the best quality of "native" stock. Now suppose 
these Indians did not eat horse flesh, and ceased to abuse 
their animals as they do, and were to give their attention 
to the improvement of the breed, what would be tlie re- 
sult? The natural increase of these animals would give 
the first year about 6000, and each year thereafter 
an increase. Take the six thousand animals of the 
first years and keep them on the grama grass of our 
Mesns, and at four years old, if they wei'e not rode to 
death before that time, and then eaten by the Indians, 
they would be worth at least sixty dollars each, which 
would make three hundred and sixty thousand dollars, 
and this amount would now be greatly increased by the 
demand for horses in consequence of the death of such 
numbers in the cities from the epizootic. It is very clear 
that the wild Indians of New Mexico could ou 'their hor- 
ses alone, (if they would deny themselves of the delica- 
cy of horse flesh diet,) be made self sustaining. If Indi- 
ans can do this, is it not much more certain that our citi- 
zens who have ranches and extent of pasture going to 



"waste 'fevery year, can also do it? I khbw liien in New 
Mexico who have a hundred mares dr more and yet they, 
scarcely have a horse fit to ride or work, owing to their 
neglect to improve the stock, and their abuse of the ani- 
mals.. They do not remember the injunction : 

"Uphill bear him 

Down hill spare him 

On the level let him trot 

And in the stable forget him not." 
Indian wdrriors frequently attach as much value to their 
favorite steed as the Arab to his fleetest coursers. Col. 
Ringwalt says': I saw a band of the Sac and Fox at Dav- 
«npor(, Iowa, some years ago, who, however ready to 
«ell their inferior liorses refused tempting ofTers for their 
best animals. In fixing a price one clap of the hands 
signified ten dollars, and when asked to designate the 
value of a superior horse, they would after innumerable 
clappings, smile and shake their heads saying "no shones" 
(no money) in a manner which clearly proved that they 
regarded him above all price. Among the tribes of the 
Northwest the turf is a favorite institution, and in the 
official description of the Indians of Washington Terri- 
tory, published in the first volume of Pacific railway 
reports, it is stated that at certain seasons the Klikitats 
descend to the Yahkohtle, Chalaka, and Talik prairies, 
■where they are met by the Yaklmas who assemble witk 
'them for the purpose of gathering a late species of ber- 
Ty and of racing horses. The racing season is the grant! 
annual occasion of these tribes. A horse of proved re- 
putation is a source of wealth or ruin to his owner. On 
his speed he stakes his whole stud, his household gpod>i, 
his clothes, and finally his wives; and a single race 
doubles his fortune, or sends him forth an impoverished 
•adventurer. The interest-, however, is not confin'sd ts 



—66— 

the indivldisil directly concerned ; the tribe share with 
him, and a common pile of goods of motley description,, 
apportioned according to their ideas of value, is put up 
by either party to be divided among the backers of the, 
winner." 

Similar ocenes may be witnessed amongst the Indians 
of New Mexico and Arizona, and the losers then become 
^'hunters ;" with a lariat they "go bunting" and return 
frequently with horses stolen from the settlements. If 
these races were forbidden by the agents and broken up, 
the great incentive to horse stealing would be removed, 
and a better class of horses among the Indians would be 
the result. Another source of great loss in the raising 
and keeping good horses among the Indians is the supersti- 
tious custom of killing all the horses belonging to a war- 
rior when he dies ; an efBcient agent with patience and 
prudence can correct this, and I care not what tribe of • 
Indians he has in charge be can, in a few years with 
proper authority from the government make his Indians 
self-sustaining frpm the horses, cattle and sheep that 
they would raise. The Indians of the Rocky Mountains 
are more disposed to pastoral pursuits than to agricultur- 
al labor ; they are nomadic in their habits, and all that 
they require is to be taught economy and induced to give 
up. their superstitious notions. 

As the eastern portion of otir country becomes more 
densely settled; as manufacturers, mining commerce, and 
all other non- producing occupations and professions multi- 
ply; as the country becomes more thickly peopled ; as 
villages draw in their houses around them and 
become towns ; as tovrns expand their limits, 
and become cities; as cities pile their houses heavenward, 
and fill them with hungry occupants ; as railroads are con- 
structed, ^nd being constructed, of course, a greater de- 



—6^7— 

mand must be made ch the agricultural and pastoral por- 
tions of the country, to supply them with food. Let our 
farmers and ranchmen prepare for this great harvest, 
>yhich ia gradually coming to us, by an improvement and 
increase of the horses, cattle, sheep and hogs, etc., in the 
Territory of New Mexico, so that we may supply the in- 
creased facilities by railroads for their transportation. to 
the Eastern States. 

CLIMATE. 

Its mildness of climate and remarkable healthfulness 
has became proverbial, the dryness and purity of the at- 
mosphere all over the Territory, and especially in the 
valleys have induced many invalids afflicted by Pulmon- 
ary and other diseases to test its salubrity with great 
benefit to them and a prolongation oftheir lives. 

The following report of the signal officer at Santa Fe 
will give some idea of th'e pure and even temperature of the 
atmosphere in New Mexico. 

WAR DEPARTMENT. 
Signal Service U. S. A. 
Santa Fe, January 6th 1872. 

Although the science of Meteorology is comparatively 
new, and moreover a difficult one because of the capri- 
cious nature of the elements of which it treats' yet it can- 
not be- denied that under the present system of local and 
.syncronical observation adopted by our government it is 
rapidly being developed into a perfect science with definite 
principles and fixed laws. 

Already the mariner heeds the ' 'cautionary signal" and 
rides safely in the. harbor while the storm. and< terapest 
pass, and we may e.^pect soon to see the farmer plant and 
reap with much greater profit because he anticipates the 
prolonged rain or the blighting drouth... 



As many of our citizens are interested in tliis branch 
of science, we publish the following condensed report for 
the year ending "December 31st 1872, which is the result 
of careful observation made with the most approved and 
accurate instrmnents. 

At this station the monthly mean of Barometer (cor- 
rected for temperature and elevation) for each month was 
as follows : January, 29,77 ; February, 29,733 ; March, 
29,735; April, 29,725 ; May, 29,851 ; June, 29,883 ; 
July, 29,925; August, 29,97; Sept; 29,91; October, 
29,90 ; :N^ovember, 29,83 ; December, 29,783. Mean 
of Barometer for the year, — 29,835. 

Monthly mean of Thermometer : January, 27° ; Feb- 
ruary, 34° ; March, 38,8° ; April, 45,8° ; May, 58,1° ; 
June, 66,9°; July, 67,6° ; August, 87°; September, 
60° ; October, 49° ; November, 33° ; December 32,6° : 
Mean of Thermometer for the year, — 48, 3°. 

The highest observed temperature during the year was 
88° and the lowest 5° below zero. 

Total rainfall for each month expressed inches and hun- 
dreths : January, 34; February, 20; March, 13; April, 
14 ; May, 45 ; June, 2,44 ; July, 2,62 ; August, 2,98 ; 
September, 27 ; October, 25 ; November, 01 ; Dec. 04. 
The greatest single rainfall was 1,21 inches which occured 
June 4th, Total rainfall for the year — 9,87 inches. 

The wind has travelled 50,220 miles with the prevail- 
ing direction North, 

John P. Clum. 
Observer Signal Service U. S. A. 

Santa Fe, N. M. 

L'any pereons suppose that owing to the arid climate of 
New Mexico and the reported small rainfall, that water 
would be scarce. Such should remember that the reports 



—69— 

are generally made in reference to the valleys, and that 
in the mountain ranges there are during the winter gen- 
erally heavy falls of snow, which supply our streams with 
an abundance of water by its melting during the spring 
and summer months ; besides this, there are many springs, 
hot and impregnated with minerals, also cold springs, 
thus W8 are blessed with pure air and water, both essen- 
tial to health ; and with the Nile of America for irriga- 
tion, we have abundance of water to cultivate the valleys 
of Rio del Norte, Rio Grande and the tributaries of< this 
great river. 

With reference to the subject of- disease I quote from a 
letter from Lew Kennon, M. D., of Santa Fe, the lead- 
ing physician of this Territory, who has had on extensive 
practice in New Mexico for twenty years. He says : . 

* * * "It is certain that even w^ien the lungs 

were irreparably diseased very much benefit has resulted. 
Invalids have come here with the system falling into tuber- 
cular ruin and their lives been astonishingly prolonged 
by the dry, bracing atmosphere. 

The most amazing results, however, are produced ir> 
warding off the approaches of Phthisis, and I am sure 
there are but few cases which if sent here before the mala-. 
dy is well pronounced, would fail to be arrested. Wher«. 
hardening has occurred or even considerable cavities been 
establifhed, relief altogether astonishing takes place. 

The lowest death rate from tubercular disease in Am- 
erica is in New Mexico. The census of 1860 and 1870 
give 25 per cent. ..in New England, 14 in Minnesotta, 
from 5 to 6 in the different southern states, and o percent 
in New Mexico. 

I have never known a case of . bronchitis brought here 
that was not vastly improved or. altogether cured; and 
asthma as well. 



—70— 

Kheumatism arid 'diseases of the heart with or without a 
rheumatic origin do badly here. Valvular difficulty in 
that organ, is invariably made worse. But, the most as- 
tonishing effect of this climate is seen in those cases of 
general debility of all the functions of body and mmd. 
That tised up condition, the pestilent nuisance of physlsians 
in the great cities. People come here in a sort of debacle, 
having little hope of living arid often little desire to, and 
the relief is so quick as to seem miraculous. 

I have no doubt that when means of access to this coun- 
try are better, and therefore it being better known, it 
will rival or supersede Florida, Madeira, Nice or Dr. Ben- 
nett's much vaunted paradise of Mentone.as a sanitarium. 
The country is far distant from either ocean ; it is utterly 
free from all causes of disease. The atmosphere is almost 
as dry as that of Egypt. The winters are so mild that 

there are not ten days in the whole year an invalid cannot 
take exercise in the open air. The summers are so cool 
that in midsummer one or two blankets are necessary to 
sleep under. The whole territory has been always aston- 
ishingly free from epidemic disease. 

For weak or broken-down children there is surely nothing 

'' like it on the face of the earth. With them the law of 

• survival of the strongest here seems not to obtain at all." 

Professor Hayden in his published report for 1870, pa- 

ges 204 and 205, says in reference to the climate, etc. : 

" In order to understand properly the differences in 
climate and productions observable in the different parts 
of this section, it is necessary, not only to take into con- 
sideration the latitude, but also the variations in altitude, 
and proximity to high mountains. Beginning at the San 
Luis Valley, with an elevation of 7,000 feet above the 
level of the sea, we find when we reach Santa Fe the 



—71— 

iieiglit Is still 6,840 feet,* which is higlierthan some of the 
valleys further north. Keeping on the same plateau, and 
moving south, the elevations of the principal points are 
as follows : Gulisteo Village, 6,165 ; Los Cerrillos, 5,804 ; 
Caiion Blanco, 6,32C, and a little southwest of the canon 
near Laguna Blanca, G.943 feet. Moving southwest from 
this point toward Albuquerque, we find the elevation at 
San Antonio is 6,408 feet. But when we descend into 
the immediate valley of the Rio Grande, as far north as 
Pena Blanca, it is only 5^288 feet above the jea level, or 
1,552 lower than at Santa Fe. At San Felipe itis 5,220; 
at Albuquerque, 5,026 ; at Isleta, 4,'910; at Socorro, 
4,560 I at Alamosa, 4,200, and at El Paso about 3,800. 
Strange as it may appear, when we cross the ridge east 
of Santa Fe, to the headv/aters of the Pecos, we find the 
altitudeof Pecos Village but 6,360 feet— about 500 feet 
lower than at Santa Fe ; while at Anton Chico it is only 
5,372 feet, corresponding very nearly with that of the 
llio Grande Valley at Pena Blanca. 

I have given these particulars in regard to the elevation 
of this region to show that, sweeping around the southern 
terminus of the Rocky Mountain range, is an elevated 
plateau, or extended mesa, which reaching north along 
the inside of the basin for son:e distance, occupies both 
sides of the river, but southward recedes from it. At Pen^i 
Blanca we descend into the Rio Grande Valley proper, 

which continues along the southern course of the river 

with little interruption thro;:ghout the rest of the territory. 

From this point south, fruits and tenderer vegetables and 

plants are grown with ease, which fail no farther north 

than Santa Fe." &c. 

— *Dr. Kennon lias furnished me the following in regard to Sauta 
Fe : "Average temperature for mouths of November and Decem- 
ber, 1871, and January and February, 1872, deduced <rom 270 obser- 
vations taken at 7 a. m., 12 m., aud 7 p. m. 39-*. Mean of 270 ob- 
scrvalions (Barometric) reduced to freezing point 23, 25.937 iHcbes. 
''iSlevation 6,837.67 feet. 



—72— 

MINES AND MINING* 

The destruction caused by the Texan invasion iu 1861^ 
— 62 had a most disastrous effect upon this country. Th& 
invaders coTisumed its substance, caused the loss of al- 
most its entire mining capital, and much injured the agri- 
cultural interests. The Indians, seeing that the whites 
were at war, increased in boldness and compelled the 
abandonment of many mines and settlements. 

Before the late war two copper mines were extensively" 
worked, the "Santa Rita" and fire "Hnnover," turning 
out about twelve tons of copper per week, and employing 
jointly, about five hundred hinds. Other copper mines 
had been opened, or were about to commence operations. 

The mines in the placer mountain about thirty mile» 
from Santa Fe, have in former years, been productive, alsft 
the "Ortiz" and "Cunningham" mines. Gold-bearing 
quartz, in this mountain, had been worked for a number 
of years before tbe war. When the Texans invaded 
New Mexico there were about forty Americans at work 
in these mines, and in the run of the mill for twenty four 
hours they obtained about $750 worth of,gold. There i» 
also near these shafts a coal mine several feet in width, 
and a short distance therefrom an extensive deposit of', 
magnetic iron. I have seen some fine specimens of gold 
from this mountain, which indicate its value. 

The silver mines on the west of this mountain are 
very rich and easily worked. With proper machinery^, 
.and a little energy these mines could be made very profit-^ 
able. 

At Pinos Altos some 300 miners were at work in placer 
mining, gold quartz, and silver mining, and this new dis- 
trict was biddino- fair to be the first in richness on the- 
ilfontier ; new lodes were being discovered d^ily. Shortly,, 



— i» — 

ftfter the wari broke out the Indians combined to deslroj, 
the town of Pinos Altos. They made the assault in • 
broad day, some 600 strong, and, having 8urprise<l the • 
population tbey charged through the town, and the in- - 
habitants owe their salvation to a mountain howitzer. 

At San Jose a small force was engaged in quartz min-- 
ing, several companies were organized to work in thi.^' 
district. 

At the commencement of the war a placer had been dis- 
covered in the Jicarilla Mountains in Lincoln county, 
where some 300 miners, chiefly Mexicans, were at work 
and doing well. Other companies were about to com- 
mence operations on the silver lodes of the "Organos'* 
mountaine. The Stephenson company had shipped a lot 
ot machinery and material to work extensively the Stephen- 
son silver mines. These reached their destination the- 
v-ery wet k hostilities coojtnenced on the frontier. 

In 1S62 a large number of persons entered tlie San^, 
Juan region on account of the gold excitement. (This 
country is claimed and roamed over by the Weminutche 
and Capote bands of Utah Indians.) They built a town on, 
the Rio Las Anmias, which they were compelled to aban- 
don, the houses now remaining unoccupied. Many of them.,, 
returned to the settlements in a starving condition, al- 
though gold and silver was found in the mountains, an(i, 
on all the streams tributary to the San Juan river. Thia.. 
includes the mming operation previous to the rebellion, 
and these were at different points in New. Mexico and Ari- 
zona. Ot'\er points have been prospected, and the pre- 
cious metals are known to exist in abundance throughout^ 
the whole mountain portion of , this country. 

The Comm'ssioner of the General Land Office, in his re?- 
port for 18G8 page 54, says ; 

"Valuable minerals are found in every, portion of Nev/. 



—74— 

MeiKico. In numerocs localities may now be seen shafts 
and'drifts, the work iof former generations, and the only 
monuments left of their energy, activity and industry, 
while the almost daily discovery of new lodes of gold and 
i^ilver-bearing quartz and auriferous placers indicate that 
mining operations in the future will be as productive as 
in the past, (as in the days of Montezuma and Cortes.) 

On page 162 he eays : 

"New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Southern Califor- 
nia present an area of productive soil and genial climate 
that promises under the ?ti(nulus of railway communica- 
tion to attract and support a large industrial population. 
Both the aoricultural ar.d mineral resources of these re- 
r:rion8 are on a magnificent scale," etc. 

A small appropriation wag made by Congress for a geo- 
logical survey of Colorado and New Mexico, 'which was 
made by Dr. F. V. Ilayden, United States geologist, and 
his assistants, but whichwas, in consequence of the W'ant 
of funds, necessarily brief and imperfect, yet in an exam- 
ination of only a few day spent in New Mexico, (no por- 
tion of which was given to the west side of the Rio Gran- 
de,) he reports the following ^ ^minerals of commercial val- 

Iron Pi/rifes, Copper Pyrites — Mostly auriferious, wide- 
ly distributed in veins over the flanks of the Rocky Moun- 
tains in New Mexico and in numerous lesser chains of 
granitic and metamorphic rocks. 

MalacJi'ite, green vitriol, blue vitriol — Principally from 
decompositions of the above wherever the ores have been 
exposed to weathering. Widely distributed in veins over 
the flanks of the Rocky Mountains in New Mexico, and 
in numerous lesser chains of granitic and metamorphic 
rocks. 
-ZinehlcnJe, often argentiferous — Sandia, &g. 



— 7S— 

^Galena, often argentiferous — Maxwell's near Mora. 

Brittle Silver — Maxwell's, near Mora. 

Fahlerz — Maxwell's near Mora. 

Specular Iron Ore — Real Dolores, near Ortiz mine. 

Red and BrQion Hematite — ^Widely distributed ; Old 
Placer, &c. 

Magnetic Pyrites — New Placer. 

Coal — Raton mountains. Maxwell's, Real Dolores, &c. 

€crussite — Maxwell's. 

Anglesite — Maxwell's. 

Native Gold — -Arroyo Hondo, Moreno, Brahm Lode, 
New Placer, &c. 

Native Silver — Maxwell's 

Horn Silver — Maxwell's. 

Titanic Iron Ore — Real Dolores. 

Smithsonite — Sandia. 

•Silver 6r/imc'c— Moreno, New and 01c3 Placers. 

Light and dark ruby silver — Maxwell's. 

SpatJdc a.nd Micacious Iron Ores — Real Dolores. 

Turquoise — Cerrillos, between Santa Fe and San Laza- 
ro mountains. 

Professor Hayden says In his report, page 130 : 

"The valuable ores abound almost everyAvhere in the 
granite and gneiss of the Rocky Mountains, and the eco- 
nomic question is not to find the material, but the capital 
and labor with which to work. That the country over 
which these investigations were made is replete with those 
minerals which by their decomposition are found by ex- 
perience to most enrich the soil, as it is with the before- 
mentioned minerals of commercial value. 

MINERALS. 

Gold is known to exist in over fifty different localities 
in this country. It and silver must have been kn&wa 



—76— 

and extensively mined by the Aztecs, as the presence of. 
their old ruins is said to be an almost unfailing indicatior> 
of mines. The Spaniards mined gold, silver, and cop- 
per in this region, and Jesuit priests more thoroughly 
prospected it than it has been since. They reported at 
all points great riches, and the existence of all the prcr 
cious metals. At the Placer Mountain the Old and New 
Placer, quartz lodes have been opened since the war. 

At Moreno mines, at Ute Creek, and other tributaries 
of the Cimarron and Red river, large deposits of gold 
have been discovered and worked. The Cumaiissioner 
of the General Land Office, in his report of 1868, page 
54, says : 

There has recently been received at this offico a speci- 
men of ore, consisting of a silicious deposit of exceedingly 
loose texture, through which are interspersed fibers of 
pure gold, some oi which exceed two inches in length. It 
is claimed that an assay (made at the Denver mint) of a 
specimen of this ore, in which no gold was visible to the 
eye, yielded at the rate of $19,000 to the ton. The 
locality in which this specimen was obtained is on the 
Keadwaters of the creek, a branch of Cimarron river, and 
the existence of the deposit was hitherto unsuspected. 

Several years ago gold was discovered at Arroyo 
Hondo, Taos county, and the 'Arroyo Hondo Mining and 
Ditch Company" organized. Since then gold has been 
found in paying quantities at Carson's Gulch, Stewart's 
Gulch, Prospect Gulch, Seymour Gulch, Good-luck 
Gulch, Quien Sabe Gulch, and California Gulch, formerly 
called "Canada de la Pluma," the King William gold 
lodp, and the Ilenk gold Jgde. 

The gold found in the gulches is shot-gold mostly. The 
specimens from the lodes are rich quartz, and the gold 



-7T— 

can be dietinguished with the naked eye. This whole 
section is evidently abounding in gold. 

At Pinos Altos, quartz gold-mining received considera- 
ble attention. Thirty lodes were discovered, paying from 
forty to two hundred dollars per ton. The richest of 
these was the "Maston lode," called after two brothers. 

In this district thirty lodes of gold quartz were work- 
ed, ten of silver or a combination of silver and gold, and 
three of copper. There has been picked up in one day in & 
gulch at Pinos Altos ores of gold, silver, lead, zinc, mag* 
'netic iron, and plumbago. 

Gold in quartz and fine placer gold have been found on 
"the headwaters of the Rio de Las Animas, and placer gold 
on nearly all the steams tributary to the San Juan river, 
also on the Chama river. The country watered by the 
San Pedro, Rio Las Animas, Rio Los Pinos, Rio La 
Plata, Rio Dolores, Rio Mancos, Rio Pedro, Rio Nutra, 
San Juan, andNavnjo river, is occupied and claimed by 
the Wemenutche and Capote bands of Utahs, who refuse 
to allow any settlers or miners in their country. They 
permitted me to spend a month in their country in th« 
suiumer of 1868. And twice since have I visited that region 
and explored it to a considercible extent ; its scenery, past- 
oral, agricultural and mineral resources exceed any thing 
I have seen in any portion of New Mexico and from my 
observations I am fully satisfied that there is not a richer 
■country for the same extent on this continent. If these 
Indians could be induced to go to the agency on their re- 
servation in Colorado, northeast of the San Juan mount- 
ains, (which they refuse to do,) that country could be 
■developed, and would sustain a large agricultural, pas- 
*toral and mining population. 

Gold placet mining was quite successful before the wat 



—78— 

nea:* Fort Stanton, Lincoln couniy.- It has been foiiadio 
seven localities in the Sacramento mountains. 

At the "San Jose Mines," in the Sierra Madre, gold 
H quartz was extensively mined by the Spaniards, and 
afterwards by the Mexicans, The quartz veins here in- 
tersect each other in all directions, forming a net v/ork of 
veins for one mile in width* and three miles in length. 
The surface is dotted with shafts. 

On the San Francisco river, west of the Gila, in. Ari- 
zona, gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver have been 
found ; gold prospected m the bed of the stream from 
one cent to one dollar per pan. In 1863 I met old Cap- 
tain Walker, ("the California miner,") with a party, on 
the Gila river. He had explored that country, but was 
driven out by the Indians. He reported rich gold depo- 
sits. I obtained specimens of the gold found by his party 
on this stream, and which are very fine, some of which 
are in the cabinet of the General Lajid Office. This is 
the place where the Indians procured theguld to malie the 
bullets which F. X.. Aubury reported he fouud among 
the Indians, some of which were placed in the Smithson- 
ian Institution, and others in the mmeral cabinet of the 
General Land Office. Gold placers are found through- 
out the mountains at the head of this stream, but water . 
is scarce. 

On the Mimbres river, or, rather, in the vicinity of 
that stream, is an extensive placer. The Mexicans form- 
erly worked it, carrying the dirt to the water. A canal, 
u few miles in length at this point, I believe, would deve- 
loD an extraordinary rich gold deposit. 

Silver is the promi-oent and most abundant mineral of 
these Territories, and the lodes of silver, with its many 
combinations, are th&most numerous.- I think it will be 
the most profitable braach of mining iu' the Rocky mount- 



—79— 

ain region. It would be too tedious to specify the differ" - 
ent localities where silver has been found, as these locali- 
ties would be numberless, including almost every mount- 
ain chain in the Territories' The principal districts known 
are the Placer mountains, near Santa Fe ; the Ute Creek , 
mountains, near Maxwell's ; the Organ mountains near 
the Mesilla valley ; the Arroyo Hondo mining region in 
Taos county; the San Juan Mountains, specially at the 
head waters of Rio Dolores and Rio La Plata, (silver 
river) which are west oa the Utah Indian reservation, are 
extremely rich in silver. Vast deposits of '-Smithsonite" 
are found at this point. The Organ mountains are ex- ^ 
tremely rich in silver. Over fifty mines have been dis- 
covered, the ore being generally argentiferous galena, 
admitting of simple reduction by smelting the, mines 
paying from $40 to $200 per ton. 

The district near Mesilla valley, in the Organas mount- 
ains has a mean altitude of 4,400 feet and is intersected 
with ravines affording most favorable opportunities for 
horizontal drifts in opening the veins. There is a belt or 
series of veins containing six principal veins varying from 
two to fifteen feet in width. On the largest of these veins 
is the celebrated "Stephenson mine." This belt of veins 
crosses the Organas at or near the San Augustine pass, 
and both sides of the chain of mountains present similar 
features and equal richness. 

The country bordering pa the north portion of Chihua- 
hua is a rich silver district; Jilst over our line are the 
mines of "Gorralitos," the most succesful mines in the 
State of Chihuahua. It has been mined for nearly fifty 
years. Its. productiveness has overcome all obstaclesj 
and it has employed annually several hundred hands. 

Near the old town of El Paso tradition places the 
locality of one of the richest silver mines known to the 



— BO— 

Spaniards. It« site has been los't pirt'^e the expiiUiSa 
of the Jesuits, It is said that the Jesuits of Northern 
Mexico, were the last to suffer the decree of expulsion 
and had sufficient notice of the edict -an'd carefully cover- 
ed up the traces 6f the mining. In this way the loc- 
alities of many df the richest mmes of New Mexico and 
Arizona have been lost. 

West frotti the Mesilla valley, and the old towns of 
La Mesilla and Las Cruces, is located Silver City. In 
1863 I visited its location, and explored the region of the 
Gila river ; at that time there was not a house where now 
stands the town. Now there is a large town — many good 
houses — four large two story brick stores, streets wide 
and regular, numerous families, "women and children. In 
May 1870 the mines were discovered here, and since that 
time the town has sprung up atlS several mills are now in 
operation and nearly all the 'houses have been been built 
by the products of the mines, and the improvements made 
here, have been paid for wnth the silver taken from the 
mines in this locality. One year ago I again visited that 
locality, and obtained specimens from over sixty mines 
and lodes which are in the cabinets of the Agricultural 
Department, the General Land Of^ce and the Smithso- 
nian Institution, at Washington. One lode called "The 
Two Ikes," is a curiosity, being an immense bed of slate 
Avith horizontal layers , the seams filled with silver of the 
class called "horn." Between the layers of slate are 
sheets of this "horn silver" as thick as tissue paper. I 
cannot attempt to describe the various quartz lodes in thi« 
section — they are too numerous, and are of two classes, 
one suitable for smelting, and the other for crushing and 
amalgamation. There appears to be a deficiency of lead 
in the ore for smelting, which is not the case with the ores 
from the mines in Socorro county, and in the Organ moun* 



—81— 

tarns of Dona Ana county. I have in my cabinet a spe- 
ciojien of considerable size sent to me by A. H. More- 
head, Esq., of Doiia Ana county and which contains GO 
per cent*, of lead and 20 per cent, of Silver, and is abun- 
dant in that mountain. I quote the following from the 
report of F. Sturenburo-, metallurgist, in reference to 
Grant county, New Mexico, as furnished to the Surveyor 
General of New Mexico and included in the report of the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office for the year 
1871, page 153, etc: 

*'GliA]SiT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO." 

''These mines, situate very near to the dividing lines 
between New Mexico and Arizona and New Mexico and 
Chihuahua, form a direct link in the great mineral belt 
extending from Alaska down to Central America. It may 
from this fact, be assumed that the mineral veins are 
most probably irue fissure-veins ; another favorable indi- 
cation in this regard is to be found in the great variety 
of minerals found in this district, hardly any of the use- 
ful or precious metals is missing and all are represented 
in really marvelously rich oree. 

The district proper is encompassed within a circle of 
about twelve miles diameter, the gold, silver, and iron 
mines of Pinos Altos forming the center. Of these 
mines I have already given a short description, which was 
embodied in the report of the commissioner on mines 
for 1870, and I shall therefore not now refer to them. 
Seven miles northeast thence lie the Hanover copper 
mines, six miles east the San Jose and Santa Rita cop- 
per and lead mines, and seven miles west of the Silver 
Flats and Chloride silver mines. Toward the north the 
district has not yet been explored, on account of the 
hostility of the Indians. 



—82— 

Before entering into a particular description of the^ 
several mines, I deem it necessary to offer a few remarks 
in regard to the geologieal structure and the formatiori 
of the country. The mountain range in ^vhich these 
mines are located consists of spurs and branches of the 
San Francisco and Mogollon ranges, norti?, both attain- 
ing the snow altitudes. These latter ran^gea are stili 
terra incognita, the Apache Indians preventing their be- 
ing thoroughly prospected; yet so much has been as- 
certained by stray prospecting parties that the country 
is extremely rich in minerals, principally gold. It vva& 
in this neighborhood where a soldier belonging, to a scout- 
ing party under the command of the renowned Indian fight-, 
er,, Colonel Albert H. PfeifFer, companion of the late 
Kit Carson, was shot by an Indian, and when the bul- 
let vras extracted it was foun^ to be of gold ; trappers- 
and escaped Indian prisoners also repurt that it is a 
general custom with the warriors of the Coyotero Apa- 
ches, who live in these regions, to. ornament their beltS' 
with gold nuggets. 

Besides gold, these ranges contain very rich copper 
ores. I assayed myself a carbonate of copper from 
San Francisco Canon which gave $780 per ton silver. 

Northeast of these ranges lie the mountain chains in 
which the Corona del Pueblo mines are located. 1 in- 
tend visiting this district shortly, and shaU give a full 
description thereof. 

To the west of the Pinos Altos mining district lie the 
Ilalston silver mines, and further on the Apache Pass 
irold mines. 

To the south there is again an unexplored mountain 
range, very near or on the Mexican boundary line, Las 
Rosaritas,, unquestionably rich, to juilgc from the float- 



~8S— 

rock that comes from thence, but inaccessible on accouht 
of the redskins, and further south the Corralitos silver 
mines, .at the present time profitably worked. 

I draAV attention to the surroundings of these mines in 
order to show that the district is most favorably situated 
and even if the indications of violent volcanic action are 
to be found almost through the entire district, I can 
only come to the conclusion th'&t these eruptions took 
place long after the original formation of the metal- 
bearing fissure-veins. 

Future experience must prove the correctness of these 
supposition, since until now none of these mines have 
been sufficiently prospected; yet not only the geo- 
graphical position, but also the general character of the 
country rock, each point to a true mineral formation 
and fissure-veins. 

Geology discloses a grand picture in these regions* 
The immense blocks of fine-grained granite, and the nu- 
merous fragments of basaltic rock, place the genesis of the 
country into the tertiary period ; but^'not during that period 
the mineral deposits were formed, because the caps of the 
veins carry rock of siiurian and Jura formation*. Before 
any material changes could have, taken place, and even 
before nature had covered the surface with its botanical 
ornaments to any estent, tliis' solitary island in the ante- 
diluvial sea was again- submerged, (proofs, absence &f 
fossils in the lower strata,) but was resurrected from. the 
slumber below the murmuring waves by the forcibJe and 
violent power of Pluto. 

This second genesis could not have taken place,. but at 
a proportionally late period, because the plutonic conglo- 
merate breaks' through and overlies the Jurassic lime- 
rock numerous petrifications in -the' latter stone of sheila 



—84— 

and mollusk and argilaceous sand are proofs of a long 
period of inundation. 

Neptuiiic influence however, had no considerablp share 
in the formation of the present country ; sedimentary 
deposits are few to be found; the bed-rock is encounter- 
ed at depth seldom exceeding 5 to 7 feet. 

That the re-elevation of the continent must have been 
sudden and violent, is proved by the absence of the pec- 
uliar lines and streaks traced on the mountain sides of 
the slowly receding waves ; neither are they to be found 
in the remarkable table rocks or pyramids, generally en- 
countered in other parts of New Mexico, where water 
has had sufficient time to trace its marks : none of the 
horizontal table mountains, standing down in straight lines 
at angles of 45° ; no level plains of a thin layer of a de- 
composed tufa underlaid wah coarse gravel ; in fact, none 
ot these unmistakable proofs of long aquatic action, such 
as New Mexico most particularly offers in so many in- 
stances. 

Most probably at that time the mineral- bearing veins 
were formed, after which the country remained undis- 
turbed for a long period, during which the decomposed 
rack, by the air and water, had time to be washed over 
the veins and so cover them ; in Finos Altos the main 
lead from w^hich most of the wash-gold came has not 
been discovered yet on that account. During this period 
the continent must have continued to be elevated but 
slowly and imperceptibly, the same as it is rising yet this 
very moment : proof for such is found in the traditions 
of the inhabitants in regard to rivers which are now quite 
dry, to springs and wells having become dry, and many 
other signs of decrease of surface waters. 

But before the country assumed its present aspect, it 
had to undergo another convulsion ; volcanic action shat- 



—85— 

tered and broke up some of the veins, reduced their min- 
erals to a fiery fluid mass, and poured the same, with 
lava and cinders, over the surface. Such is the case at 
the Hannover mine. Most of the copper is found in a 
metallic state, imbedded in scori i and tufa,, and only- 
traces of the former vein, carrying mostly black sulphur- 
ets, the same as the Santa Rita, have remained. The Han- 
nover is, strictly speaking, no vein lode, but a deposit 
covering an area of some three square miles. The same 
must have happened in Lone Mountain and Chloride dis- 
tricts, where the rich chlorides have filled up crevasses 
and seams. Pinos Altos seems to have escaped this dis- 
turbance, since there are no traces to be found there of 
late volcanic activity. It is, strictly speaking, also a dif- 
ferent formation, since nowhere else iron-stone appears in 
such heavy masses, which also accounts for the presence 
of gold, of Avhich there is no trace to be found in the sur- 
rounding districts. 

Silver Flat district also shows signs of volcanic disturb- 
ance, but very different from the neighboring mines. 
Here a ferruginous conglomerate or tufa forms the cap of 
all the veins, in fact covers the surface of the entire dis- 
trict ; and as this district is nearest to Pinos Altos, it is 
probable that the volcanic hearth whence that cover of lava 
was spread was situated within the iron belt surrounding 
Pinos Altos. 

Af regards the continuity of these mines, no correct 
idea can be formed as yet ; still, I am disposed to favor 
this view ; but I believe but few of the actual true fissure- 
veins have as yet been discovered. Chloride district lies 
at the foot of higher mountains, which have not aa yet been 
prospected, on account of the danger of Indians, but 
these, in my opinion, are the many ledges whence these 
deposits of rich chlorides came. 



—8Q^ 

The Ralston mines, about sixty miles southwest froin 
Silver Flat, and strictly speaking, forming quite a se- 
parate district, show also different formation and struc- 
ture. Here copper carbonate tufa, and most probable 
sulphate copper further below, forms the matrix of the 
ore, and the contents in silver are small. None of these 
ores exceeded $30 per ton. On the other hand, the district 
offer advantages over the others in the enormous masses 
of ore it will be able to produce, provided the vains prove 
themselves to be fissure^v-eins. Although apparently 
they bear all indications of permanency, still I would not 
vouch for it. The volcanic or possibly plutonic con- 
glomerate in which they run is too unreliable. There is 
no trace of syenite or trap-rock. • I consider it of vital 
importance for this district that one of the shafts should 
be sunk to about 50 or sixty feet ; then only can the true 
character of the formation be ascertained. 

After having given a general geological and geognostic 
outline of this mineral region, I now propose to give a 
detailed description of these districts — Silver Flat, Chlo- 
ride, Lone Mountain and Ralston. Pinos Altos I have 
already described, as stated, and the Hanover, San Jose, 
and Santa Rita copper mines have been treated upon in 
every pamphlet or report on the mines of this country, 
and I particularly refer to the able and correct report of 
Messrs. Owens and Cox, as contained in the pamphlet 
published by Hon. C. P. Clever, when Delegate in Wash- 
ington. That report is elaborate and entirely reliable, 
and I coincide with the complete persuasion, in the opin- 
ion of the gentlemen, that the Hanover is the richest min- 
eral deposit ever discovered in New Mexico. 

SILTER FTAT DISTRICT 

is Situate in a low foot-hill, embracing an area of about 



••— :87— 

Jtwo 6qunre miles ; a great many claltus are located here, 
'but with very little judgment and practical knowledge ; in 
moBt cases the ferruginous tufa^ filling up crevasses and 
pockets, was located as a silver-bearing lode. There are, 
iowever, a few apparently good leads, although no defi- 
nite opinion can be arrived at, since none of them have 
been sufficiently opened. I examined myself the follow- 
ing, viz : 

Sample No. 1. — Robert E. Lee; vein not yet well de- 
fined ; ore still mixed up with ferruginous cap ; at the 
bottom of a 30-foot shaft the gray sulphurets of silver 
come in. 

Sample No. 2. — Legal Tender; shaft 32 feet deep ; 
goes through the eap, and shows now 3 feet of gray sul- 
phuret. 

Sample No. 3. — Turin No. 2 ; shaft only 10 feet deep ; 
opened at the side of a steep hill ; shows very light cap, 
and carries rich chlorides. I do not consider it a vein aa 

yet. 

Sample Mo. 4. — Giant ; lOfoot shaft ; light cap ; tol- 
erably well defined lead ; no pure ore as yet. 

These leads run all parallel, and are separated by spaces 
of 50 to iOO feet ; direction northwest and southeast ; 
^ip'' nearly vertical. 

Sample No. 5. — New Issue; 5-foot shaft; shows wide 
lead and rich ore, but cannot as yet be relied upon. 

Sample No. 6. — Minnehaha; 20-foot shaft; irregular 
ledge, but good ore ; light cap. 

These two leads are cross leade, and run almost due 
west and east, crossing the above four leads. 

Sample No. 7. — Last Chance; about a mile off the 
above ; shaft 10-feet ; wide, irrregular ledge ; ore of very 
easy reduction ; chlori-des. 



—88— 

Sample No. 8. — Ecuador ; shaffc five feet deep ; no- 
regular vein ; probablj only a crev^«se filling. 

Sample No. 9. — Average ore from deepest shaft, (Le- 
gal Tender,) and probably the one which will predomi- 
nate in all leads in this district. I am inclined to believe- 
that a large deposit of this kind of ore will be found un- 
derlying^ the largest portion of this 

CHLORIDE DISTRICT. 

There are also in this district located a great many 
claims of doubtful nature ; no shaft has as yet been sunk 
exceeding 5 feet, and the mines are in fact not prospected 
yet; the character of the ore is almost the same, with the 
exception of the Green Mountain lead, which carries a 
good deal of carbonate of copper ; all others, as Gran 
Tesorero, Hidden Treasure, Seneca, Gran Quevira, Sher- 
man, etc., have, until now, furnished nothing but chlo- 
ride; all are irregular, and in ray opinion, creva&se fill- 
ings; the entire hill, embracing an are of about three 
square miles, is literally covered with the same ore, and 
400 to 500 tons of it could easily be mined. 

Sample No. 10. — Is first-class ore, two tons of which 
were reduced and produced at the rate of about $160 per 
ton ; about one-sixth part of the general ore is of this class-. 

Sample No- 11. — Average second and third class ore."' 

COPPER 

has been found in almost every portion of New Mexico 
•and Arizona. On the San Francsico river, in Reloncillos 
range of mountains, at the Nacimiento, in the San Juan 
Utah country ; in the Apache regions of Arizona, and in 
great richness in Sierra Madre. On the spurs of the Sier- 
ra Madre, known as the copper mountains, there is a mul- 
tiplicity of veins. One vein ia this mountain, was traced 



-89— 

by a mining engineer, riding over the vein on horseback 
for eight miles. In one place, at least, it is literally a 
mountain of copper, a shaft having been sunk 125 tra- 
verse of the lode, but failed in determining its width. Ten 
mines have been discovered, two have been worked. One 
of these "The Santa Rita del Cobre," the title of which 
is derived from the King of Spain, has been mined at 
intervals for over one hundred and thirty years. The other 
'The Hanover mine" has been very extensively worked for 
a few years before the v/ar ; it was opened in 1859. 

In the abstract of the Census Report of 1860, page 173, 
New Mexico is placed second of all districts in the value 
of its copper yield, the yield for the year ending June 30, 
1860, being 640 tons, of the value of $415,000. Thia 
was the product of the two mines before mentioned. Thi^ 
copper district is surrounded by every facility for success- 
Tul mining. There is a sufficiency of water, an abundance 
of timber — pine, oak, cedar and piilon — while to the south 
the plains present as fine pasturage as exists in the United 
States, In the same range of mountains 'are found many 
other precious and useful metals ; while at a convenient 
distance are large and fertile valleys, which can furnish 
the supplies of flour and grain necessary for the operatives. 
The copper is of peculiar richness, the ore averaging 35 
per cent, of copper, while the metal is often found pure ; 
the veins are wide, easily worked, the ore loose and easily 
mined, and there is no alloy, and the reduction of the ore 
is a simple smelt. The copper on reaching market com- 
manded the highest price, from the fact that it is the most 
maleable and ductile copper known to commerce. 

In 1860 the cost of mining a pound of ore was about 
eight cents, cost of freight to European market ten cents 
profit four or five cents a pound and exchange. 

Peace, that is a siihstanlial fcace with the Indians suchi 



BE President Grant is now inagurating would probably 
redtjcs the cost of mining a pounil of ore to five cents, 
and a railroad to the Missouri river and the eastern cities 
^vould reduce freight to Europe to se".'en cents, leaving an 
extraordinary margin of profit. 

•The Hanover and Santa Rita mines at the commence- 
ment of the rebellion were yielding several tons of copper 
pet week, and employed about five hundred hands. At 
the commencement of the war the rebels obtained some 
S0'(),000 pounds of copper from the mines, which was at 
Port Lavaca awaiting shipment or in transitu. The}'' 
established two cannon foundries with capaoity, it is said, 
of two pieces per week. They colifiscated that which 
l)elonged to the owners, who were loyal to the Union, 
and paid twenty- seven cents per pound for the portion 
which belonged to friends of the Confederate Govern- 
ment. 

The abandonment of the Federal posts on the frontiers 
led to the* most immediate abandonment of the copper 
mines. The Indians murdered many of the employes, 
the machinery was'stolen or destroyed, and most complete 
devastation eifected. 

Iron Ore has been found in various forms in gulches of 
•'the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre, at the Placer 
"mountains, Raton Range, Pinos Altos, San Jose, and 
*' the copper mines; 

Lead is found in almost every combination. A remark- 
able vein is found at the foot of the Sierra de los Cobres, 
' three feet wide, of nearly pure lead. The Indians have 
'^ 'for a long time obtained their supplies of lead frojii this 
vein, smelting it in the vicinity. The ore contains a small 
portion of silver. A similar vein of lead, about five feet 
ia width, is located west of the Utah reservation, ob the 



-9i— 

Rio Dolores. These Indians believe it to be silver^ but I 
am satisfied that it is almost pure lead. 

Salt occurs in many places in New '^Mexico and Ari- 
zona, often mixed with alkali — and also- pure in lakes. 
One vein is in the neighborhood of Fortl'Stanton. The 
evaporation in the salt lakes makes an annual deposit of 
salt several inches in thickness, coarse, strong, and of the 
best quality. It has often been taken to the'city of 
Chihuahua for sale, as the salt of that State is inferior, 
being mixed with alkali. The principal lakes are in the 
valley 'between' the Organos and Sacramento mountaina ; 
■one lake on the Texas line, and the best one sixty miles 
northward. 

Goal has been found in various parts of the Territory 
and in considerable quantities and of good quality. As 
to quality, &c.,^83e report of Professor F. V. Hayden, 
United States Geologist, page 123. 

MINERALS AND MINES. 

Minerals of any kind occuring along the lines of rail- 
roads must obviously attract more attention and possess a 
greater relative value, than those found at a greater dis- 
tance from the lines of through traffic. It is a notewor- 
thy fact, that a number of the richest mineral districts of 
New Mexico are situated upon the most practicable routes 
for the main lines of railways that are rapidly approach- 
ing this Territory. This is particularly the case with the 
Pyramid Range District, situated in the southwestern por- 
tion of New Mexico, on the line of the Texas Pacific 
Railroad, and with that rich storehouse of various classes 
of minerals embraced by Los Cerillos, the valley of the 
Galisteo, the Old and New Placer mountains and the' San- 
dia mountains. 

The Pyramid Range District received a fearful blow 



— 92— 

soon after its discovery from the attempt made by Cali- 
fornia speculator to rush thousands of feet of lodes upon 
the market, which were entirely unexplored and to which 
they had no title whatever. However, enough has been 
done in this district to prove beyond a doubt the existence 
of mines of great richness and extent. With the railroad 
passing immediately by these mines, it is safe to say that 
there are few if any places in the world where larger re- 
turns can be derived upon tha capital necessary to their 
proper working. 

The second region spoken of above lies in the counties 
of Santa Fe and Bernalillo and is traversed by the line of 
the Atlantic and Pacific railroad as located. 

The description of the following mines situated in Los 
Cerrillos, at a distance of from one to three miles from 
tlie railroad line, I take from Professor Raymonds report 
for 1870. The investigations were made by Professor 
Bruckner, a metallurgist and mining engineer of wide 
repute. 

'« Santa Rosa, discovered forty years ago by Alvara- 
do, is situated in a small valley surrounded by hills. The 
inclined shaft 50 feet deep, but mostly caved in. The 
lode is six feet wide, strikes north 23° East and dips 80° 
northwest. The walls are granite and encase argentifer- 
ous galena, zincblend, iron and copper, pyrites in a gan- 
gue of hard quartz." 

Since the above report this mine has been reopened by 
a verticl shaft, and the ore is being reduced in a furnace 
situated upon the Galisteo. The bullion thus far pro- 
duced has averaged $165 50 per ton in silver. 

Mi7ia Ruelena. — The lode consists of tAvo layers on the 
surface, one of whieh is three feet, the other one foot wide 
It crosses the stratification of the country rock, (granite) 
strikes north 15° east, and dips 80° southwest. The ore 



—93— 

consists of galena, zincblende, iron and copper pyrites, 
and the products of decomposition of these ores, all in a 
gangue of quartz and partly decomposed feldspar. The 

inclined shaft on this vein is 120 feet deep. 

Mi7ia del Tiro is situate on the east side of the Cerrillos 

in the Canada de las Minas. An incline 150 feet and a 
vertical shaft 100 feet deep, connect with extensive mon- 
tones (drifts) of over 300 feet in length and with many 
chambers. All are filled with water. Tlie remains of an old 
canoe which was used for crossing water in the mine, are 
still there. These excavations were made by the Jesuits,* 
probably before 1680, and the expense has been estimat- 
ed at $100,000. Silver ore is visible in large quantities. 
It consists of the same minerals as described in the above 
named mines, but zinc-blende is so predominant that the 
ore was found refractory in smelting. The proper way 
to work it would be by chloridizing, roasting and amalga- 
mation. Salt for this purpose can be had in large quan- 
titiesat the salt lakes south of Santa Fe. 

Many other mines and silver lodes were visited, but the 
former were too much caved in, the latter too little open- 
ed to admit of anything like reliable descriptiou. It may be 
mentioned, however, in this connection, that an assay of 
a specimen of very coarse galena from the last mentioned 
veins gave a result of 76 per cent, of lead, and $42 75 

silver per ton. 

Professor Raymond, in speaking of this locality says : 

"The Cerrillos, 17 miles southwest of Santa Fe, contain 
many silver bearing lodes, which have never been de- 
scribed, although they are well worth it. They are situate 
on an old Spanish grant belonging to the Baca y Delgado 
family. t The Cerrillos arQ, a series of low undulating 

— *This by history should be the Franciscan Friars and not 
the Jesuits. 

— tThis grant has since been surveyed as 'public lands and sold by 
goverumeut to citizens who are now workin^j the mines. 



—94— 

hills, about six miles long and three mires widfe^ and cod** 
sist mostly of granite rocks; a few of them of volcanic 
origin. From a cone made up ^f bassaltic lava near 
Martin's ranch, a splendid -vJiew of the Old and New Pla- 
cer Mountains in the southeast, the Bernalillo in the 
southwest, Santa Fein the> north, and Jemez Range in 
the west, is spread before the visitor, &c" 

IJrofeaaor Raymond says of the Socorro county mines : 

"The Madalena Mountains are situate about thirty 
miles west of Socorro, a . town on the Rio Grande del 
Norte, and one hundred and forty three south of Santa 
Fe. Three years ago a California miner found a very 
rich piece of silver ore in these mountains, and subse- 
quent prospecting expeditions resulted in the discovery of 
many lodes, most of them small, but rich in copper and 
silver. A specimen yielded, by assay, $100 00 silver per 
ton ; others are reported to have assayed as high as $500. 

The Sdnta Juliana lods-is said to be a very large ga- 
lena lode, which carries $9 per ton in silver. Most of 
the veins have been but very imperfectly opened, as will 
be seen from the following description of the region : 

The Madalena Mountain range rises abruptly from the 
plains to a height of over 2,000 feet. It extends about 
forty miles, in a north and south direction, and is on the 
average three or four miles wide. The principal rocks 
constituting it are limestones and metamorphosed sand- 
stones.- The mineral-bearing veins are found on the 
summit and along the western slope of the range, the 
greate&t number being locatad on its Borthern end. Some 
©f the canons along the sides of the mountain contain 
placer gold, but the quantity is insufficient for 
profitable working. 

T\iQ Washington lode is located at the summit of the 
range ne&r.its' northern <ead, ^ttd'^orms the crest for sk 



—95— 

considerable distance. It strikes narthwest and south-'' 
east, and dips about 35° to the southwest. It is large- 
and well defined and carries copper, lead, silver and 
gold ores. The first named is predominant. The open- 
ings, so far, are inconsiderable, t!ie deepest shaft bemg 
less than 30 feet. 

The ^Chavez, south of the Washington, on the sum- 
mit of the range, has nearly the same strike and dip, 
and appears to- be its extension. It is a contact vein 
between the liraeatons and sandstone, and carries the 
same ores as the Washington j the lead ores, however, 
predominate. 

The Saiita JuUann, at the base of the western slope- 
of the mountain, has the same strike and dip as the 
Chavez. It is a very large vein, from. 10 to 20 feet 
wide, and has, been traced on the surface for a very long 
distance. It contains, principally, carbonates of lead t< 
besides this, copper, silver, gold. The gangue is im- 
pregnated throughout with mineral, and the vein is un- 
doubtedly, capable of producing extraordinarily large 
amounts of ore when properly opened. Good pine tim- 
ber and plenty of water are close at- band on every side 
and the adjacent plains are covered with a luxuriant 
growth of gramma grass. 

The Hubbell is located in a small range of low, grassy 
hills, about seven miles northwest of the Santa Juliana. 
It strikes northwest and southeast, and stands nearly ver-- 
tical. The vein is small, but its very straight course can 
be traced on the surface for a }ong distance. The oretr- 
seem to be formed by the decomposition of fahlerz, anJ'. 
consist of carbonates of copper, chloride of silver, &c. 
They are very rich." 

The occurrence of anthracite coal in workable beds in 
the western Territories near the gold and silver districts 



—96— 

is of such great importance that a short description of the 
(inthraciie mines between the Old Placer mountains and 
the Cerillos, occurring as they do, in connection with car- 
bonate of iron and hematite, and having numerous veins 
of rich magnetic iron ore, within a few miles of them, 
cannot fail to command the attention of the intelligent 
roader. The out-croppings of coal in the district refer- 
red to were first exposed in the center of the little branch- 
es that run into the Galisteo. The first one is about four 
miles south of the Galisteo. The following section of the 
strata was taken ascending : 

1. Laminated clay, with thin seams of sand passing 
up into carbonaceous clay as a floor for coal. 

2. Anthracite 5 to feet. 

3. Drab clay, indurated, 15 to 29 feet. 

4. Ferruginous sandstone, passing up into a light 
grayish sandstone 30 to 50 feet. 

The mine is opened by a tunnel 90 feet in length ; the 
dip is 15° to the east; this coal contains '6^ per cent, of 
fixed carbon. la another locality the coal is opened by 
three tunnels, two twenty-five feet long and one forty feet 
lono-, and has a thickness of four feet of anthracite. The 
coal from this mine contains 87.5 per cent, of fixed car- 
bon, and when burning shows only the short blue flame 
of carbonic oxide. This coal has been in use in driving 
the engine of the New Mexico Mining Company's stamp 
ihill. A hundred pounda brought to Santa Fe v/as used 
by Mr. Bruckner in his assaying furnace, in order to test 
the heating power practically. He found that a white 
heat was reached in a very short time, and that this heat 
lasted about three times as long as that produced by an 
equal weight of charcoal. As the material does not coke 
in the least, it is evident from this test that it is perfectly 
adapted to use in blast furnaces, though it will require a 



—97-- 

liigber pressure of blast on account of its densfty, than 
charcoal or coke. As far as its application for all prac- 
tical purposes is concerned, it is undoubtedly fully equal 
to Pennsylvania anthracite and really the best fuel discov- 
ered so far in the West. 

Between these two mines exists a bed of excellent fire- 
clay. It has been thoroughly tested and proved to be 
fully adapted as fire-proof material for furnaces. 

Coal banks have been opened at a number of points 
to the north of the above mines and the proof is conclu- 
sive that it exists in large quantities. Between the clay 
and the following sandstone stratum beds of irtiu ore are 
found. Both carbonate and hematite are present. Ores 
of this kind, as well as veins of magnetic iron of great 
purity abound in this vicinity. 

The existense of mines of gold and silver, of lead, zinc, 
copper and antimony-, and of the different ores of iron 
in almost immediate connection with deposits of anthra- 
cite coal, snd fireproof material, indicates at once the 
valleys of the Galisteo and Santa Fc, as points which have 
all the natural requirements to guarantee the erection 
upon a large scale of metallurgical works and machine 
shops for railroads, etc. 

Saltpeter is very common but rarely pure. At one 
place near the Mexican line it is found pure near a 
spring where regular deposits are made upon the clay 
from which it is gathered in considerable quantities by 
the Mexicans. The State Government of Chihuahua re- 
gulates by law its collection and prohibits its exportation. 

Gypsum beds are very common, and this valuable fer- 
tilizer abounds in many portions of this country. The 
natives never manure their lands, and the only use they 
make of gypsum is to burn it and use in place of lime. 

Plumbago has been found in many localities. 



—98— 

Zinc, in the Sierra Madre, Sandia mountains, and m 
San, Juan country. 

Quicksilver,^ virgin and cinabar^ on the San Francisco 
river. Old Spau'sb books give "the MogcUon mountain* 
as tbe place crnabar is found.'' 

Mineral springs 
and hot springs are found m almost every portion of tilii^ 
eountry. On the San Juan river, near the eartern lin^ 
of the Utah reservation^ is the Pago?gi Springs; the 
main spring I measured and found it to .be 160 yard* 
3n circumference, its depth I had no means of ascertain- 
ing. The water was so hot that it cooked meat in a few 
minutes^ Similar springs are at Las Vegas, near Taos,, 
Ojo Caliente^ Jemez, near Forts McRa^ and Selden ; 
on the estate of "the United States land- iind improve- 
ment company/' is located the famous hot spring del 
Caballo or Ojos Calientes, (see page 20 of this pamphlet.) 
In Socorro county near the town of Socorro is situa^et|, 
a valuable n^neral spring j also near the Mimbres riye^r,. 
and at various other points. The curatrve qualitities of 
these springs have long been known, and they will not fail 
to become places of general resort when a railroad shall 
furnish facilities for reaching them. 

In the country watered ,by the San Juan river and 
Colorado Chiquito, are found great quantities and of 
various sizes of beautiful garnets, also a stone resemb- 
ling the emerald. Moss agate^ and various curious and 
Interesting petrefactions^ are found west of the Rio 
Qrande river. But in ray judgmept they are of but 
little value, and nothing that I have seen will in my 
opinion justify "the diamond excitement," and the ex- 
pense of a search for precious stone in that region, 
specimens of these stones I have in my cabinet, but 
I do not believe ihera to be of mwch value* 



Further details aa to the locality of mines and min- 
eral deposits, &c., in this Territory, would probably 
be tedious, while to a few ic would be interesting. I 
therefore conclude this branch ot the resources of our 
l^cky Mountain country, and give my atention briefly 
to the subject of agriculture and manufactures which ig 
of very great interest to our people. 

Agriculture &c. 

In the foregoing pages we have shown that the arable 
land of a large portion of this country is admirably 
adapted to agriculture and to the culture of the grape. 
This is especially true of the valleys of the Rio Grande. 
Those experienced in the cultivation of the vine represent 
that all the conditions of the soil — humidity, and tempera- 
lure — are united in these regions to produce the grape in 
the greatest perfection. The. soil, composed of the 
disintegrated matter of the older rocks and volcanic 
ashes, is light, porous, and rich. The frosts in the 
winter are just sufficiently severe to destroy the insects 
without injuring the plant, and the ra3n> seldom falls in 
the season when the^ plant is flowering, or- when the fruit 
is coming into maturity, and liable to rot from exposure 
to humidity. As a consequence of these condition of 
things the fruit, when ripe, has a thin ekin, scarsely any 
pulp, and is devoid of the musky taste usual with Amer- 
ican grapes. 

Mr. William who Avas sent to. this country as an agent 
of. the Interior Department tos investigate the grape and 
procure seeds and cutting styles this country '*the Eden 
of the Grape," and speaks as follows of the yield in the 
El Paso valley, where it hag been cultivated for more 
than one hundred years. He snys : "The estimate is 
from two hundred and fifty to three hundred gallons of 



—100— 

wine to the acre, but with American skill in the man- 
agement of the vineyards, and American appliances in 
making wine, the product must be mqre than doubled." 

This district of country grows many varieties of fruits 
although no attention has been paid of scientific character. 
Apples, peaches, pears, quinces, and apricots produce 
well, and all sorts of vegetables can be cultivated. 

It is equally well adapted to the culture of grain, 
though in this, as well as in all other branches of agricul- 
ture, no science is manifested by the natives ; they are in 
this respect a hundred years behind age and tenaciously 
adhere to old customs and prejudices, and have not 
adopted the modern improvements. They scarsely ever 
fence their lands, herding their stock instead of protecting 
their fields ; know but little about rotation of crops ; plow 
with oxen, the yoke fastened to the horns, and a wooden 
plow attached of the time of Joseph. American farmers 
would double the yield of these rich valleys. Even under 
the rude culture that the natives bestow the crops are fine 
The favorite variety of wheat was brought from Sonora ; 
it*is a white, plump, small grain, beardless and short 
stalk, weighing about sixty-eight pounds to the bushel, 
aind makes a beautiful flour. Samples of this wheat I 
have in my office from various localities in New ]\Iexico 
which demonstrate this to be as good a country for the 
production of wheat as any portion of this continent. 

Corn is raised to some extent — barley, oats sorghum, 
and broom corn have lately been introduced, and do well. 

Potatoes do not grow in the Rio Grande valley, but 
fine crops are raised in the mountain valleys. 

Beans do well ; they are to the native what the potato 
is to the Irish. The valley of the Rio Grande produces 
the finest onions, a well attended crop will often produce 
a pound to the onion. 



—101— 

The report of the commisioner of the General Land 
OflSce, page 53, for 1868, says r 

Grass abounds in every portion of this territory, and 
even in the forests grows hixuriantly the entire year. At 
great altitudes this grass is in winter-time covered with 
enow, though not deadened to the ground, for, as soon as 
the snow melts, it affords excellent grazing upon the 
mesas, (table lands,) and through the valleys grows the 
justly celebrated gramma grass, which is cured as it 
stands, afford abundant food for flocks and herds through- 
out the winter. *♦**«** 

The facilities and cheapness of raising sheep and goats 
applies equally well to the raising of horses and cattle, 
and, when fully protected from Indian depredations, and 
convenient transportation is afforded to the market&of the 
east by the construction of railroads, the hills and mount- 
ains will be literally covered with flocks and herds. 

Professor Hayden in his report for 1^70 says : 

*' WESTERN NEW MEXICO. " 

" Although this is not embraced in the Rio Grande 
district, it is perhaps best to add here what few items I 
have obtained in in regard to its agricultural capacity. 

The Rio San Juan, a tributary of the Colorado of the 
West, although rising in the San Juan Mountains of Col- 
orado Territory, bends south and traverses the northwest 
portion of New Mexico, where it receives a number of 
affluents. Colonel McClure and Governor Amy inform 
me that these valleys afford a considerable breadth of 
very rich land, which can be irrigated, snd which will pro- 
duce fine crops of the cerieals, vegetables, and fruits usu- 
ally grown in the Middle States. As this area appears 
to be almost, if notentirely, unoccupied, it would present 
a good point for a oolony." 



—102— 

The foregoing extract from the report of Professor Hay- 
den 18 in reference to a section of country on which to-day 
(Jan. 15th 1873) there is probably not a vrhite man, it 
embraces an area of ninety miles long and about sixty 
"miles wide (which includes a large extent of publie land) 
and is claimed by infeignificant bands of Werainutche 
and Capote Indians who number only— Capotes 365 and 
Wemenutches 650; total 1015, men, women and children 
(according to the report of the commissioner of Indian 
Affairs for the year 1871), and who claim nearly thirty- 
five millions of acres of land ; these Indians are roaming off 
their reservation and are preventing the settlement of the 
government lands contiguous to it. I allude here only to 
the south half of the Ute reservation which is the portion 
south of the Uncompagre mountains, and the government 
lands adjoining to that reservation, all of which are 
claimed by these Utes. By the treaty of March 1868, the 
Wemenutches and Capotes are entitled to over twenty 
thousand acres of land for each head of a family ! ! ! ! ! — 
with this they are not satisfied, but claim the government 
lands adjoining thereto. Let it be remembered that this 
is in the southwest corner of Colorado and in tke north- 
east corner of New Mexico, and these Indians interfere 
with nothing east of the Rio Grande, and south of the 
Guinea Pass ; thousands of acres of land almost a hun- 
dred miles northwest of Santa Fe, remain unoccupied and 
its vast agricultural, pastoral and mineral resources re- 
main unpossessed and a benefit to no person because « 
few Ute Indians make claim to land that does not belong 
to them, and which they do not occupy. 

Last spring a company was organized composed of 
persons from Europe and citizens of New Mexico and named 
*'The Frontier Colonization Company," whose ben- 
evolent object was to place upon lands in this San Juaii 



—103— 

veglon several thousand poor families from Europe anal 
the eastern States who are now homeless, and for thie 
'purpose the company proposed to purchase from the gov- 
ernment, a portion of the land of this paradise of Amer- 
ica, situated over a hundred miles nortliwest of Santa 
Ye, and located where the Territories of Utah, Colorado, 
Arizona and New Mexico corner with each other. But 
"the dog in the luanger" policy of the Indians prevented 
it. 

This region, the Italy of the United States, will some 
day be opened ioi.' settlement, it cannot be otherwise, and 
the Indians, unless they are compelled to remain on their 
reservation and induced to sell their unoccupied lands, will 
by the advancement of immigration be deprived of the 
lands they are entitled to by treaty, and receive nothing for 
it, they will become more impoverished than they are at 
present, unless the government compel them to re iiain on 
their reservation, and quit their interference with settlers 
'oa the government lauds. The mines that have been die- 
■Covered on the head waters of the Rio de Las Animas, on 
'^aid reservation, and over ninety miles from where the 
Frontier Colonization company proposed to locate their 
colony, have been taken by miners, and claims located, 
and unless the sfovernment interferes to arrange for the 
working of those mines by purchase of the land from the 
Indians ; the miners will insist upon holding their claims 
and the Indians who are now paupers with hundreds of 
thousands of acres of land will then be unavoidably ymqicr^ 
without land, and dependent upon the government or rob- 
bers stealing from whom th<?y can. Without the wise 
intervention of the government the Indians, citizens and 
miners will be involved in trouble. I, however thank 
kind Providence, that this may only be the case with the 
Utes in the northwest corner of New Mexico, while al! 



—104— 

the rest of th€ vast and valuable territory of New MexiCd' 
will be free from the Indians; and even this portion will» 
li trust, be opened by the pron^pt action of the govern- 
ment, and these LTtes be eonapelled to remain on their 
own land, as may be determined by agreement, bo that 
the land that is of no use to them may be made available 
by purchase and arrangements for settlement, the proceeds 
to be expended by the government for '"the civilizing, 
christianizing and making self sustaining" the Indians of 
that region, this will be just and humane and result in 
opening a section of country of great extent and; value,, 
make self-sustaining the few Indians who are now a pest 
to the setiilenaents in New Mexico, and an expense to the 
government and furnish homes to thousands of- homeless 
families who are now living in poverty, and at the same 
time increase the revenues of the government. 

Professor Hayden further says, page 208 of his reports 

*'The upper tributaries of the Puereo of the West, a 
branch of Flax River, are flanked by narrow belts of ara- 
ble lands, but as the water of this river sinks as it des- 
cends, it cannot be relied on for irrigating purposes. But 
near the mountains here, as along the headwaters, of the 
Zuiii, crops may be raised without irrigation, as the sup- 
ply of rain is. said to be generally sufficient for this pur- 
pose. Even around Zuiii, where an ample supply of wa- 
ter can be obtained from the Z,uiii River, there arc no ace- 
quias, the inhabitants relying on the rains to supply the 
necessary moisture. There is probably some peculiarit}' 
connected with the local atmospheric currents here which, 
collects the moisture, or causes its separation and fall. — 
The evidences of a former quite numerous population., 
which have served to render this classic ground, when we 
consider the fact that they are unaccompanied by the re- 
gains of aqueducts, would indicate thfit formerly the 



—105— 

amouat of rain was suflSeient for agricultaral purposes. 

The Rio Mimbres runs through a beautiful valley of 
moderate width and fertile soil, where all the productionis 
of the Central States can be raised, and where even those 
things which belong to a more southern climate can be 
grown without difficulty. . 

The Ri*» Gila, near where it leaves the Territory, has 
some good bottom lands, but farther north, towards the 
Sierra Santa Rita , is pebbly and inferior. In regard to 

the valleys along its head-waters I know nothing." 

« * * * « . » 

THE CANADIAN SECTION. 

[See pages 211 and 12, Hayden's Report.] 
*This section, in a strictly systecaatic arrangement would 
be included in the Arkansas district, to which it really be- 
long; but for convenience, and that the plan of my re- 
port of last year may remain unchanged, I describe it se- 
parately. It includes that part of New Mexico lying be- 
tween the Raton Mountains on the north and the Pecos 
section, or "Llano Estacado" on the south and southwest^ 
and contains about fourteen thousand square miles. The 
amount of arable land in this section, as heretofore stated, 
is estimated at about four hundred square miles or nine 
hundred thousand acres. This estimate is made on very 
slender data, and therefore cannot be considered as very 
reliable, but I am satisfied that it is not too large, and I 
think it is approximately correct. 

The Canadian River, rising in the Raton Mountains, 
runs southeast for about one hundred and fifty miles, to 
Fort Bascom, where it turns east, and passes out of the 
Territory, a [little north of the thirty-fifth parallel — its 
whole length within the limits of the Territory being about 
two hundred miles. Most of its tributaries of any import- 
ance in aa agricultural point of view flow in from the west. 



—106— 

of which the following are the principal ones: Vermejo, 
-^^Little Cimarron, Ocate, Rayado, (a branch of the Ocate) 

Mora, Rio Conchas, Pajarito Creek, and Tucumcari 
• Creek." 



"Starting from the crest t)f the Raton Mountains im- 

• mediately above the source of the Canadian River, after 
passing down through a dense forest of magnificent firs 
and pines, we enter a beautiful little valley covered over 

' with a thick eward of luxuriant grass. Here a consider- 
able ameunt is an^iually cut for haj and taken to Trini- 

' dau. But this vaUey soon terminates, and the little stream 
and road enter a rugged caiion bordered by precipitous 
bluffs of gray sandstone, which continue to the plains at 
the base of the mountain. Here a grand panoramic view 

~ spreads out towards the south ; a broad, valley-like plain 

' slopes aouthward as far as the vision will reach. Scarcely 
a tree or shrub is to be seen ; all is one emooth, grassy 
carpet, which, on the distant gentle slopes, looks moi-e 
like pale, pea-green velvet than anything else to which I 
can compare it. Rising up from the broad base are tAvo 
or three huge basaltic tables lifting their perfectly level 
surfaces one hundred and fifty feet or more into the air, 
and all clothed in the same velvety covering, but which 

• fails to destroy the sharp outline of circular rim. The 
little stream, like a silvery thread, is seen winding its 
tortuous course along the gently descending plain, joined 

' now and then by a slender rill flowing down from the 
mountain on the west, near which are the estates of 

'die "consolidated land cattle raising and wool growiivg 
company," see page 2t> of this pamphlet. It is a mag- 
nificent pasture ground for sheep and cattle, where thou- 

"sands might be grazed and tended with but little trouble." 



107- 



MANUFACTORIES. 

' 'Inhere is no branch of industry that contributes mai'e 
to the^'prosperity of a people than manufacturing. Its ben- 
eficial eiFecta are felt throughout all the ramifications of 
society and fill a vacuum in the body politic that never 
can be filled in its absence. It furnishes the' basis upon 
which the largest portion of the "world's commerce i^ 
founded. It populates large districts, gives life to tlia 
business of cities, whitens the seas wiih the soils of all 
nations and administers to the comfort and convenience of 
the world. 

We in New Mexico depend entirely upon foreign mar- 
kets for the purchase of all the [manufactured article in 
use among us. Iron, nails, steel, leather, woolen fabrics, 
everything indeed, is bought away from home and trans- 
ported over the Plains when every one of the articles 
named could be economically manufactured here. In 
the present method of furnishing our markets with these 
supplies millions of dollars are drained from the Territory 
which never return and which go into the pockets of 
manufacturers in the States. The elements of manu- 
facturing success abound in New Mexico. Our iron ore 
is uncommonly rich, coal abundant and labor cheap. 
There is not one article into the fabrication of which iron 
enters but what could be produced as cheaply in our Ter- 
ritory as it can in any other part of the United States. 
The same may be said of leather, of which article there is 
also a large amount consumed annually by our people. 
Our forests abound with timber which yields a bark of 
the best quality for tanning purposes. Thousands of hides 
are yearly thrown away as worthless. With these induce- 
ments before them it is strange to say that the people 
have neglected this branch of business entirely and have 
depended on the States to get leather "for the most ordin- 



_108— 

ary uses. The wool which our sheep would give for the 
manufacture of cloth is almost inexhaustable in quantit}* 
and could be bought for a moderate price. 

Capital applied to either or all of these branches oi 
manufacturing could not but produce large incomes to the 
capitalist and at the same time give an impetus to the ma- 
terial progress of the Territory that would be astonishing. 
— I am fully persuaded that the absence of establishments 
of the kind mentioned is not attributable to a want of 
enterprise on the part of our people. In this respect they 
do not differ materially from the inhabitants of other por- 
tions of the country. But for reasons already mentioned, 
their pecuniary resources have been crippled to such a 
degree that only small amounts of funds have been accu- 
mulated by individuals in various districts of the Terri- 
tory, and it has not been possible to aggregate them in 
quantities sufficiently large to meet expenses which must 
necessarily be incurred to put costly machinery in motion. 

Our wool was disposed of here a few years ago to my 
knowledge at from nothing up to 10 cents a fleece, the 
owners of the animals being glad to get the wool from 
the sheep's back without trouble to themselves ; this wool 
was transported across the plains to the States there 
manufactured and probably returned here in cloth, cloth- 
ing and blankets to be sold with all the costs of transpor- 
tation, profits, labor etc. added. 

Other illustrations could be given but enough has been 
paid to show that in this Territory we need such a system 
of education to develope the manufacturing facilities 
which we possess. Agriculture is the natural avocation 
of man, when he was created and placed in "the Garden 
of delights" he was told to cultivate it, and so long as he 
did so, and violated no law of his- Creator he was happy 
in<hi8 employment; and if he fell; and the earth was ac?- 



—109— 

cursed for liis sake the sentenca was not against the em* 
plovment, but rather an argument in its favor ; since in 
consequence of the curse it became indispensably necea- 
aary to pyrsue it. Tne same feelings, the same nature 
that before the fall rejoiced m the Pomegranate and the 
Date, that fed upon the luxury of rewarded labor, and 
the rich fruits of happy industry were still vouchsafed to 
him, and in the exercise of them, though there were dif^ 
ficulties in the way, thorns and briars, still there was 
happiness. To satisfy the demands of our nature we 
must have farmers and mechanics, and to be happy in 
the employment they must be good farmers and mechan- 
ics. I know there is a vulgar prejudice against such 
callings and against labor in general, but it is truly a 
vulgar one; the noblest powers and the noblest men of 
all ages have given their suffrage in its favor. Ivino-s 
and Emperors, Philosophers and Warriors, Senators and 
Statesmen all have paid homage to its interests, and lent 
their patronfige, power and wisdom to push forward its 
progress. We have only to look back upon the history 
of agriculture and mechanic arts to see, that they have 
not only been the best, the wisest and most honorable 
men that in all ages have been the prime movers in its 
advancement but also that it has been a great aid to al- 
most all real civilization and substantial national improve- 
ment. It would seem to be a work of supererogation to 
diecuss as a controverted question the great importance 
of agricultural, pastoral and mechanical pursuits to a 
a people like ours, and indeed, I do not feci justified on 
this occasion to enter into that detail of facts and aro-u- 
ment which could be ar^/iyed in its favor, and which 
would make the balance/ sheet show in dollars and cents 
the enormous net profits that a judicious system of the 
culture of the soil, the establishment of manufactories 



and inapfovement of the sheep, horses and cattle of this 
country vvwuld annually pour into the pockets of our 
people and of capitalists who would invest their money 
in this v/ays 

TREES ETC., 

The principal trees in the deep valleys are the coUoJi" 
u-ood — a brash tree — which will not make lumber, but is 
beautiful shade tree, and answers most of the requirements 
in building and fencing. Cattle eat the bark greedily. 

Willoiv, of .which baskets, &c., are made by the Jicar- 
illa Apaches. 

MezquUe,ar screiv bean. — This in the valleys of the 
Gila becomes a considerable tree ; the wood has a fine 
ijrain, and resembles the- black walnut. It is verv dura- 
ble wood makes an intense heat, more so than anj 
with which we are acquainted. These trees 
emit vast quantities of a gum resembling and possessing... 
similar qualities to the gum arabic of commerce. The 
Apache Indians eat the mezquite bean, grinding it upon 
Land mills into flour, and the bread is very palatable-. 
Horses fatten on the beans. On the table land (mesas) 
is found a peculiar variety of the mezquite. It can hard- 
Iv be called a tree, it is rather a stunted, almost leafless 
shrub, growing in the most barren places. Jn' summer 
they are covered with- beans. 

Thi-s mezquite has the most stupendous roots^. Twelve 
feet sQu/ue will often produce a cord of roots. They 
are really the fuel-beds of that district, and nature has 
furnifhed in this way thousands of tons of fuel for the 
smelting of minerals. The roots, both dead 'and green^ 
make most excellent fire-AVOod — burn entirely to abhe«». 
The climate being arid, they never rot in the ground. 
The dead roots are a natural charcoal, and instances 
have occured where burning them in a close room has 
produced death. 

The- trees of the mountain valleys are ash, walnut, 
hackb^r-ry, (a variety ^of cherry,) and oiv- the mountains 
pine, .oak, and piiion. 

Bean-grass Plant. — This plant Is common all over the 
tablelands. It is very useful. In Mexie© gunny bags, 



— Ill— 

TQpes, saddlers' and shoemakers^ thread are rr?ade fron"55' 
the fiber. After the blockade of the late war the manu'. 
f^cture of ropes of this plant was coninienced in Texas. . 
Sowp-wced ^ (Amole.) — This is another useful plant, and h 
is very common. The natives prefer it to soap for -vvashT. 
ing wool&o goods. It extracts all grease and restores- 
t\\e. luster , of. the goods. The lather makes the best; 
shampoon, It is also an antidote for certain poisons.-. 

Tfie Maguey, known as the American aloes, and called 1 
by the Northern Mexicans mezcal, is common in all. 
portions of this district. In Lower Mexico, where thifr- . 
plant is cultivated, they make from it a liquor, called' i 
"pulque," and in the upper country the Mexicans make ■ 
from it a brandy called "mezcal'.'' The Indians €8teen> . 
this plant a great delicacy ; they cook the; heart of the 
plant. 

Hops grow wild in the mountains, and are of supe- 
rior quality. 

The husbandman has draxvn wealth during the past 
years from the cultivation of ouc fertile vallies ; those en- 
gaged in pastoral pursuits have realized large profits. — 
But this wealth of the soil and mountain pastures, though 
very abundant sinks into insignificance when contrasted 
with that wealth which is hidden beneath it ; those vast 
stores of minerals which underlie. a greater portion of this 
Territory. The most superficial investigations prove the 
existence of gold, silver^ copper, lead, iron and coal in 
abundance which should elicit fiom Congress an appro- 
piiation,. to defiay the expenses of a geological survey 
of New Mexico, which would greatly aid in revealing th^ 
untold mineral wealth of this country, and prevent the 
diamond and other frauds, and would aid the many , 
citizens Avhn are legitimately engaged in the Western . 
portion of New Mexico in the pursuit of gold, and givfs • 
full credence to the well authenticated reports from ths> • 
Gila country that a new Eld(»rad<) has been opened ini -. 
our midst w^hich must give an impetus to every branch' 
of industry and. make this a great commercial thorough- 
fare f^tanding as we do midway between the Atlantic 
and Pacific where the wealth and commerce of both 



—112— 

oceans shall pay tribute to our people, the advancement 
of this country is inevitable, with an industrious enter- 
prising and intelligent population, who can portray the 
fulness and prosperity of that splendid destiny which is 
in reserve for New Mexico. 

In considerable detail I have given the advantages, 
properties and resources possessed by this Territory, 
and represented also the disadvantages under 
which it labors, and have embraced the evils by which the 
development of the resources of this country is retarded. 
Yet the manifold resources, the latent and patent wealth 
of this country, admits of a future as bright and pros- 
perous as any equal portion of the mountain country of 
the United States. Encouragement and aid by Congress 
in the construction of railways for transportation, ditches 
and canals to irrigate the millions of unproductive lands 
will make "the country blossom and bloom as the rose." 
And while it will furnish homes and subsistence to thou- 
sands of poor who are now starving in our cities and 
in Europe ; it will bring revenue into the coffers of the 
government, and establish colonies andtownsail over those 
now unoccupied millions of acres of unsurveyed and un- 
improved lands. 

As year by year the continent is being spanned by the 
iron band, cheapening and facilitating our intercourse with 
the world ; as the savage tribes become educated, civiliz- 
ed, christianized, and merged into our governmental or- 
ganizations as citizens ; as a superabundance of gold and 
silver from our mountains and capital from our commer- 
cial cities will be seeking investment; as the vast -miner- 
al resources of the great west are becoming understood ; 
as etiiio'ration is ever flowing onward and westward in a 
ceaseless tide ; as the Government of the United States is 
ever able and willing to extend a fortering protection 
throughout its vast domain, this country will receive its 
proportion of these great benefits, and once investigated 
its claims to a most favorable consideration Avill wield 
their own argument. 

-\^. F. JVC. A.:Risr^r. 





INTERESTING ITEMS 

REGARDINQ 

NEW MEXICO: 

ITS 

AGEJCULTURAL, PASTORAL 

AND 

MINERAL RESOURCES, 

PEOPLE, CLIMATE, SOIL, SCENERY, Etc. 



By W. F. M. ARNY, Acting Governor of New Mexico. 




MANDEliFIELD & TUCKER, Printers 

1873. ^ 









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